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HISTORY 



OF THE 



r a 



iii 



) 



Miii bfflif? four 

AND 

THE EXPEDITIONS, CAMPAIGNS, RAIDS, MARCHES, 

AND BATTLES OF THE ARMIES WITH 

WHICH IT WAS CONNECTED, 

WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 

OF ' 

BREVET MA.J0L1 GENERAL JOHN P, C. SHANKS, 

A_ND OF 

BREVET BRIG, GEN. THOMAS M, BROWNE, 

AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE REGIMENT; 

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE BURNING OF THE 

STEAMER SULTANA ON THE 

MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 

AND OF THE CAPTURE, TRIAL, CONVICTION AND EXECUTION OP 

DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 



THOMAS S. COGLEY, 

LATE FIRST LIEUTENANT COMPANY 



1876: 

HERALD COMPANY, STEAM PRINTI 

LAPORTK, INDIANA 




End red «rv ,„•,//„„ /„ ,„■• ,„ < •„„,„,„ ,7, ,], & year 13-^ ly 

THOMAS S. COO LEY, S. 
In the offire ,., tht Librarian of Conyre** at WaMigion. 



A 



DEDICATED 

TO 

THE MEMORY OF THE DEAD, 

AND 

THE SURVIVING MEMBERS 

OF 

THE SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY, 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Pkeface 5 

PART I. 

Browne, Thomas M„ Biographical sketch of. 7 

Morristown Speech 12 

Shanks, John P. C. Biographical sketch of 41 

PART II. 

HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Chapter I. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. 

Gov. Morton's Order for recruiting the Regiment 46 

COMPANY ROSTERS. 

Company A 48 

Company B 50 

Company C 51 

Company D 52 

Company E 54 

Company F 55 

Company G 57 

Company H 58 

Company I 59 

Company K ■ 61 

Company L 62 

Company M 63 

First Grand Review ■■• 6* 



II PONTENTS 

Page. 

Chapter IL 

Seventh Indiana leaves Indianapolis for Columbus, K'y— Reports to Col. 
Waring at Union City and assigned to the lsl Brigade of the 6th Di- 
vision o. the liitli Army Corps— Expedition to Dresden, Tenn.— 
Rebels escape in the night— Return to Union City— Expedition to 
Jackson, Tenn., and escape of Forrest— Return to Union City, terrible 
New Year, men and horses frozen— Cavalry marches for Colliersville 
— Capt. Shoemaker sent to escort bearer of dispatches to Memphis- 
Encounters Rebels at Grand Juncl Ion, and captures five prisoners- 
Lieut. Skelton attacks and drives a body of rebels through La- 
grange, and pursues them lour miles, and captures twenty prisoners 
— Grierson reaches Colliersville 66 

Chapter III. 

MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 

The campaign, as sketched by Gen's Grant and Sherman— Gen. Sooy 
Smith to co-operate with Gen. Sherman, by destroying Forrest's cav- 
alry— 2d and 3d brigades march from Germantown to New Albany— 
The first from Colliersville to Moscow, thence to N ew Albany vim 
Holly Springs— Skirmish beyond Holly Springs— Concentration of 
Smith's army, "pomp and glorious circumstance of war" — Prepara- 
tions for battle ; rebels retire— Redland burned, the whole country 
In a blaze— Head of column to the left— Skirmish beyond Okolona— 2d 
brigade goes to Aberdeen— Egypl Station burned— Fight at West 
Point, rebels retire across the river, and burn the bridge— Bivouac on 
the battle field— Smith retreats, heavy fighting in the rear— Stam- 
pede of the 3d brigade at Okolona, on the morning ofFeb.22d— 
Desperate fighting of the 7th Indiana,, makes a brilliant sabre charge 
at Ivy Farm, and saves the army from capture— Retnrn to Memphis 
Official report of the expedition 70 

Chapter IV. 

GUNTOWN EXPEDITION. 

invasion of West Tennessee by Forrest— Gen. Grierson makes a recog- 
nizance in force ai Raleigh, Tenn.— Skirmish and capture of color- 
bearer— Return to camp— Foi rest concentrates ai Tupelo, Miss.— Gen. 
s. D.Sturges marches against him with eight thousand men— Reviews 
the regiment— Heavy skirmishing at Ripley— Col. Browne dislodges 
the rebels by a Sank movement— Col. Karge surrounded on an 
Island in the Hatchie river— Col. Browne goes to his relief— General 
Grierson discovers Forrest in position ai Brlce's cross-roads— Battle 
commenced between Forrest's and Grierson's cavalry— Heroic con- 
ductofCol. Browne and the 7th Indiana — Holds Its position lor two 
hours and repulses repeated attacks of the rebels— Infantry arrives 
and the regimenl withdrawn— Sturges overwhelmingly defeated— 
Ed treat— Desperate fightiug of the colored troops— Fighl ai Ripley— 
Return to Memphis— 7th Indiana complimented by Gen. Grierson... 97 



CONTENTS. III 

Page. 

Chapter V. 

EXPEDITION TO PORT GIBSON. 

The Regiment goes to Vicksburg by steamboat— Then marches to the 
Big Black— Skirmish at Utica— Rebels driven through Port Gibson— 
7th Indiana has a running right to Bayou Pierce— Wirt Adams re- 
pulsed at Grand Gulf— Regiment returns to Memphis 117 

Chapter VI. 

Fight at Tallahatchie river— Gen. Hatch pursues the rebel Gen. Chal- 
mers to Oxford and returns to the Tallahatchie— 1st brigade of cavalry 
returns to Holly Springs— Capt. Skelton with thirty men attacks six 
hundred rebels at Lamar Station, in the night, and ruus them 
through the town— Forrest's raid into Memphis— Gen. Washburn 
barely escapes capture 120 

Chapter VII. 

MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 

March to Brownsville, Arkansas, thence to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 
up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, into the Interior of Mis- 
souri, Chase of Price— Attack on the Rebel Rear-guard at Indepen- 
dence— Seventh Indiana Fights for the Possession of a Corn-Field, 
at Big Blue, and Wins— Battle of the Little Osage, Brilliant Sabre 
Charge— Pursuit of Price to the Marmiton, Attacked and Driven 
Across the River, Retreats to the Arkansas River— Cavalry Returns 
to St. Louis 125 

Chapter VIII. 

GRIERSON'S RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 

Gen. Grierson Marches to Harrisburg— Capt. Elliott, with the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, Captures Verona, a Large Number of Prisoners, 
and destroys a large quantity of Rebel army stores— Railroad and 
bridges destroyed— Gen. Grierson captures a rebel stockade and its 
garrison at Egypt, rebel General Gohlson killed— Chases a railroad 
train and captures a large number- of cars, and Rebel Prisoners — 
Tears up the track, and prevents the arrival of rebel reinforcements 
—Capt. Elliott, with one hundred men, attacks three hundred rebels 
—Capt. Beckwith captures Bankston and burns a cloth and leather 
factory, surprise of the superintendent of the works— Capture of hogs 
Col. Osborn defeats the rebels at Franklin— Grenada captured— Arri- 
val at Vicksburg and enthusiastic reception— Capt. Moore's expedi- 
tion into Arkansas— Capt. Skelton captures three prisoners— Break- 
fast in the rebel camp 136 



/ 



IV PONTENTS, 

Page 

Chapter IX. 

LOUISIANA EXPEDITION. 

The Fxpedition goes down the Mississippi River to Grand Lake— March 
Through the swamps to Bastrop, La.— Negroes flock to the command 
and Perish of the Cold— A Negro Mother Throws Away her Child— 
Sufferings of the Soldiers— March to Hamburg, and Gains Landing — 
Return to Memphis 149 



Chapter X. 

GUARDING RAILROAD AND SCOUTING. 

The regiment moves along the railroad to Lagrange — News of the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln — Death of Lieut. Skirvin— Mass meet- 
ing of citizens and soldiers— Speech of Col. Browne 154 



Chapter XI. 

BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 

Trip down the Mississippi, and up the Red River to Alexandria— Amuse- 
ment of shooting alligators, Southern etiquette— Military execution 
for desertion— Departure for Texas— A long, dreary march through 
the wilderness— Snakes, bugs, toads, lizards, and all manner of 
creeping things— Arrival at Hempstead— Brutality of Gen. Custer— 
ConsolidatiOD of the regiment 159 



Chapter XII. 

REORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. 

The regiment begins its march for Austin— Passes through Benham and 
Bastrop— The Mayor of Bastrop extends to Col. Browne the liberty of 
the city, in a speech In German, that knocks the poetry all out of 
him— "Colonel, you ish a German, I understant"— Arrival at Austin 
—Final muster out 179 



Chapter XIII. 

BURNING OF THE SULTANA 
184 



PONTENTS. ¥ 

Page. 

Chapter XIV. 

DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 

Nature of Guerrillas— Dick Davis, his early life— He enters the Confed- 
erate service under John Morgan— Captured in Ohio, while there as 
a spy, steals a horse to effect his escape— Captured and put in jail 
and indicted for horse stealing— The case dismissed on condition 
that he enlisted in the Union army— He avails himself of the first 
opportunity to desert— Turns up as a Guerrilla Chief near Memphis 
—Captured and confined in the Irving Block at Memphis, but es- 
capes—His field of operations and mode of warfare— Captured by 
Capt. Skelton, and again confined in the Irving Block— Attempts to 
escape by the assistance of his sweetheart, but is foiled by the vigi- 
lance of the officers and guards— His personal appearance— His trial 
and conviction— The murder of Capt. Somers and men— His death 
sentence— He bravely meets his fate— The charges and specifications 
on which he was tried, and findings of the court 188 

PART III. 

SKETCHES OF 

Blackford, Lieut. Elijah J 227 

Carpenter, Major James 11 206 

Cogley, Lieut. Thomas S, 242 

Crane, Lieut. William H 233 

Donch, Capt, John 235 

Elliott, Major Joel H 212 

Gleason, Lieut. Charles H 233 

Guerrilla Atttack on Officers at Dinner 238 

Lewis, Capt. Sylvester L 238 

Moore, Major John M 210 

Parmelee, Capt John R 215 

Simonson, Lieut.-Col. Samuel E. W 205 

Skelton, Major Joseph W 218 

Smither, Capt. Robert G 230 

Way, Lieut. Francis M 231 



PREFACE. 

To preserve the record of the sufferings, fatigues, raids, expe- 
ditions, skirmishes and battles, of as gallant a military organiza- 
tion, as ever drew saber in a holy cause, is the purpose of 
writing this book. The general historian deals only with gener- 
al facts. Armies, corps, divisions, brigades and regiments, are 
swallowed up in the names of their commanders. Were it pos- 
sible for him to gather the information necessary to give the 
personal experiences of the officers only, of armies, the great 
space necessary lor such a work, will forever preclude the pos- 
sibility of the general historian engaging in such an undertak- 
ing. There never was, never can be, and never will be. a com- 
plete history of any war written, although the greater portion 
of the history of all countries relates to war. The great volume 
of blood is not complete, until it has the personal experience of 
each individual soldier. But such a record can be approximat- 
ed, so far as integral portions of armies are concerned, by works 
of this character. Although this is a hi -story of the 7th Indiana 
Cavalry, yet it is by no means complete, because it does not 
contain the individual military history of each member of the 
regiment. Even if it were possible to obtain the information 
nece:sary for such a work, to publish it, would require several 
volumes of the size of this, the expense of which, with its neces- 
sarily limited sale, would forbid such an undertaking. 

Although this only purports to be the history of a single mil- 
itary organization, yet it is more. It is as complete a history of 
the operations of the armies with which the regiment was con- 
nected, as will be found in works of greater pretentions. All of 
it, except such portions as relate solely to the organization of the 
regiment, will be of interest to the general reader. 



rREFACE. 



Sketches of only a part of the officers of the regiment are giv- 
en. But it must not be understood that those whose names do 
not appear in that part of the book, did nothing worthy of 
record. The reason of the omission simply is, the failure to gel 
in communication with them, has rendered it impossible to 
obtain the facts necessary to write of them properly. 

Of most that is written, the author had personal knowledge 
Being a prisoner of war at the time of the expedition to Missouri 
in the Fall of 1861, I have had to rely on the statement, of 
others, and on official documents for what is written of thai 
brilliant campaign. 

Reasonable accuracy has been attained, by reference to the 
official reports, the correspondence, and the journal of Gen 
Lhomas M. Browne, which he kindly placed at my disposal. 

Valuable information has been obtained from a history of 
company "I " written and published in the Northern Indianhn 
by Major James H. Carpenter, after his return from the army. 
A so valuable information has been furnished by Major Joseph 
W . Skelton and Capt. John R. Parmelee. 

Without further explanation or introduction, this book is 
submitted to the public— 

A , By the Autuor. 

Michigan City, Lnd, November 1, 1876. 



PART I. 

Biographical Shetches of General Thomas M. Browne and Gen. 
John P. C. Shanks. 

BREVET BRTGADIER GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 

Tlie institution of African slavery was fastened on the people 
of this country at an early period of their colonial history. It 
existed at the time our famous Declaration of Independence 
was promulgated. At the time the Constitution of the United 
States was adopted, it was a recognized competitor with freedom 
in the'race of life. 

Our statesmen and lawyers succeeded in establishing the 
doctrine, that inasmuch as slavery existed at the time the Dec- 
laration and Constitution were adopted, the slaves were not 
included in, hut were excluded from their provisions. That they 
were not thought of as human beings, but were considered by 
the framers of the Constitution, only as property. This doctrine 
was at a later day gravely affirmed by the Supreme Court of the 
United States, 

Our nation presented the strange spectacle of one race of 
people enjoying the most enlarged liberty, while another rare 
were subjected to a more abject slavery than was tolerated un- 
der the most absolute autocratic government and that, too, under 
the same Constitution. 

The Constitution was referred to, as the warrant for the exist- 
ence of both freedom and slavery. 

It could not be otherwise, than that the institution of slavery, 
that had nothing to recommend it to a candid and refined mind, 
should arouse philanthropists to a warfare against it. 



8 fEEAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 

Protests against the institution were made by tlie convention 
assembled at Philadelphia, for the adoption of the Constitution, 
but were unheeded. Organized opposition to slavery, ante-dates 
both the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of 
the United States. 

The opponents of Slavery, armed, not with weapons from Vul- 
can's armory, but with justice, right, and religion, waged their 
moral warfare against our great national sin. 

The slavery propagandist, conscious of the intrinsic wrong of 
their favorite institution, that it was at war with every princi- 
ple of natural justice, and in defiance of the inalienable rights 
announced in the Declaration of Independence, grew intolerant 
of those who had clearer ideas of liberty. Fearful that the doc- 
trines promulgated by the Abolitionists would be favorably 
received by the masses of the people, they adopted a system of 
persecution and ostracism against their opponents. 

Slavery entered the pulpit ami divided the churches. It en- 
tered society, ami arrayed neighbor agaii.st neighbor. [t 
strode haughtily into the national Congress, where its advocates 
insulted civilization, and outraged decency, by hurling defiance 
at those who dared to question their right to buy and sell their 
fellows like beasts of burden, and making it the especial ob- 
ject of the protection of the Government. Year after year the 
contest waxed hotter and hotter. The persecution of the Abo- 
litionists, by the Pro-slavery men, was intolerable. It seems 
incredible that such a state of affairs could exist in a free coun- 
try. To add insult to injury, the Pro-slavery element secured 
the enactment of the infamous fugitive slave law, which compell- 
ed people of the North to become slave hunters for the people of 
the South. 

The accumulating insults and outrages of the champions of 
slavery, and their demand for its expansion roused the people 
of the North to the dangers threatening the Union, and they 
formed the resolution to restrict slavery to the territory it al- 
ready occupied. For that purpose, the Republican party was 



GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 9 

organized in 1856. As a twin sister of slavery was the dogma 
of secession, the right of a State to withdraw from the Union. 
The threat to dissolve the Union was like a sword, suspended 
over the heads of the Republicans. Notwithstanding, the cham- 
pions of freedom did not yield their ground, and the "irrepress- 
ible conflict" went on. 

Of those who fought on the side of liberty and union in that 
conflict, and in the rebellion inaugurated by the fairly defeated 
Pro-slavery men, was Thomas M. Browne, the subject of this 
sketch. He was born on the 19th day of April, 1830, at New 
Paris, in Preble county, in the State of Ohio. 

John A. Browne, his father, was a native of the State of Penn- 
sylvania, and his mother of Kentucky. The later died at New 
Paris, Ohio, in the year 1843. 

This calamity broke up the family circle, and John A. Browne 
took his son Thomas M. to Spartanburg, Randolph county, In- 
diana, where he apprenticed him to Ralph M. Pomeroy , a mer- 
chant of that place. Thomas M. Browne inherited his mother's 
great mental faculties, and business capacity. His father, after 
apprenticing him to Mr. Pomeroy, went to Grant county, Ken- 
tucky, where he died in 1865. Put his eyes were not closed in 
death, until his ears had caught the sweet accents of praise 
spoken of his noble son. He lived to see the vast assemblies 
swayed by that peculiar eloquence, that has placed his son in the 
front rank of the great men of Indiana. The breezes from the far 
off battle-fields, wafted to him the gratifying intelligence of the 
noble manner in which his son, sustained, with his sword, the 
honor of our national flag. 

In his youth, Thomas M. Browne, was a close observer, and 
acquired a remarkable knowledge of human character. By 
close application he speedily acquired knowledge, and correct 
business habits. His honesty and truthfulness, were the chief 
beauties, not only of his youth, but are also of his mature man- 
hood. 

His means of acquiring kmwledge, so far as institutions of 

2 



10 GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 

learning are concerned, were confined to the common schools of 
Spartanburgh, and one term in the Randolph county Seminary. 
But so indefatigable has been his pursuit of learning, that no one 
can clothe his thoughts in'a more beautiful garb of language, or 
embellish them with nobler flights of fancy. 

In the Lyceum at Spartanburg, he became the acknowledged 
leader. A ready and fluent speaker and a splendid reader, he 
distanced all of his competitors. 

A friend of his, having a law suit before a justice of the peace, 
at Spartanburg, and having against him one of the best law- 
yers of Winchester, and being himself without counsel, and 
knowing of young Browne's fluency as a speaker, importuned 
him to appear and defend his case. Browne did so, and with 
such shrewdness and address, that he won the case. It may be 
that that incident decided him to study law. 

At any rate in the Spring of 1848, he left the store of Mr. 
Pomeroy, went to Winchester, entered the law office, as a stu- 
dent, of the Hon. William A. Pelle, and applied himself earn- 
estly to the study of law. In 1840, after a reading of only a 
year, he successfully passed an examination in open court, and 
whs admitted to practice in all the inferior courts of the State, 
and in 1851, be was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court 
of Indiana. 

In August, 1850, just one year after his admission to the bar, 
and Ik fore be was twenty-cne years of age, he was elected pros- 
ecuting attorney of Randolph county, which otlice he held two 
years. In L855, after the adoption of our present State Consti- 
tution, which made the office co-extensive with the judicial cir- 
he was elected prosecutor of the thirteenth judicial circuit. 
He was re elected to the same position in 1857, and again in 
1859. He discharged the duties of his otlice with ability, and 
Ins labors were attended with more than usual success. 

At New Paris, Ohio, on the 18th of March, 1S49, he married 
Miss Mary J. Austin, who has been his faithful companion in 



A 

GENERfL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 11 

adversity and prosperity, and who has watched with the just 
pride of a wife, the honorable advancements of her husband. 

The election of Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the 
United States, was seized upon by the traitors 'of the country as 
a pretext for dissolving the Federal Union. y,War, with all its 
attendant evils, was precipitated on the Government, for which 
it was wholly unprepared. 

Thomas M. Browne was among the host of patriots, who by 
their eloquence and patriotism, did wonders for the preservation 
of the Union, by inducing the people to rally around the Nation- 
al Government, and sustain it in its hour of sore trial. 

At Morristown on the 27th day of August, 1861, he delivered 
a great speech on the crisis of the country, replete with patriot- 
ism and eloquence. We could not give the reader a better idea 
of Gen. Browne as an orator and patriot, and of the causes that 
led to the war, and of the complications of those times, than by 
giving the speech in full, which we now do: 



MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 



My fellow citizens: At a time like this, it is more pleas- 
ant to review the past, than the present, of our history. A 
brief reference to what we have been may yet excite emotions of 
patriotism in the hearts of the people, for as the past passes be- 
fore us, we find that almost every field has its tale of blood, and 
every shore its record of suffering, and not a mountain lifts its 
head unsung or unworthy of heroic strains ! 

Less than two centuries and a half ago, the May Flower 
planted on the shores of the Atlantic the germ of a mighty Re- 
public. Driven from their altars and their homos, persecuted 
and hunted down by a relentless despotism, the indomitable 
Puritan stepped upon Plymouth Rock, imbued with a love of 
liberty, and a hatred to tyranny which were destined to achieve 
esults. The pilgrim found a new world, boundless 
in its extent, spread out before him. Its resources were to be 
developed — the hardships and dangers of pioneer life were to be 
met and surmounted. Fearlessly did he enter upon Ins task — 
il valiantly did he struggle until surmounting obstacles the 
most formidable ever conquered by by human genius or human 
prow. aabled to bequeath to posterity a legacy 

valuable Hem the world had ever known before. It' wi did- 
inherit from the Puritan of the May Flower and Plymouth 
Rock, our Republican institutions, we did that which was equal- 
ly valuable, we inherited that spii 

the revolutionary lathers to strike for freedom — and that uncon- 

bravery which endured an almost hopeless contest 

of toil, despondency and peril. 

But two centuries have passed and the result of the Pilgrim's 

work is before you. Look at- it and say, has.it. ool been done 

well '.' See you nowhi re the ban lol an Almighty I ice in 

it ' Then the Bound -I' the woodman's a m disturbed the 

. in i variegated 



MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 13 

ness, in its forests and prairies, in its river and rivulet, in it3 
mountain and valley, wrote its own history. Wrapped in this 
grand seclusion a great continent hail lain for fifteen centuries. 
How now? A nation stretches itself out from the Atlantic over 
the Alleghanies, the valley of the Mississippi, scales the Rocky 
Mountains, and stops only when it reaches the surge-washed 
shores of the Pacific. Northward it reaches the lakes — South- 
ward to the orange and palmetto groves'of the States of the 
Gulf. Thirty millions of people populate its fertile valleys and 
its mountain acclivities. In all that constitutes national great- 
ness it is rich ; rich in revenue, in strong arms and patriotic 
hearts. Millions of acres groan under their heavy harvests, and 
the music of the loom and torge is heard in almost every village. 
The map of the nation presents a net-work of canals and rail-' 
roads, those great arteries oi commerce, [ts form of govern- 
ment is the model of Republics. The world over, whenever 
Liberty has gained even a temporary triumph over despotism, a 
government is formed or attempted upon the plan of ours. The 
destruction of this government would be a terrible blow, and 
one that might be eternal in it effects, at civil and religious lib- 
erty throughout the world Prove this to be a failure, and to 
what people, let me ask you, will the down-trodden and tyranny- 
smitten subjects ot existing despotisms, look for hope and en- 
couragement? Destroy oui Constitution, and you establish the 
divine right of kings — you give ^he Lie to man's capacity for 
self-goyerment. 

But I have spoken of our country as it was, before treason 
crept into it councils, before its Catilines had conspired against 
its life, and before it had been ascertained by traitors that this 
thing of beauty and vigor, had hidden within it some infernal 
machine, prepared by the makers of the constitution themselves, 
by which the govern men! could be utterly annihilated by the 
act of a single State. Secession is claimed as a constitutional 
right, although the destruction of that constitution is the result. 
Secession is the assassination of the government — it is to suppose 
that the constitution has armed a State against itself, and con- 
spired against its own existence. To concede the right of seces- 
sion is to admit our most solemn statues but mere figures of 
speech, and that our constitution is butas theempty declamation 
of the school-boy. Can it be that all the blood of the Revolu- 
tion was poured oui so freely to secure us a government bound 
ia b i l"' ble th m rope I? ession, dii -/use it 



li. MORKISTOWN SPEECH. 

a? you may, cover it over with whatever plausible pretext you 
may, is bat treason — treason blacker than Burrs', and as damn- 
able as that which has given Benedict Arnold an immortality of 
infamy. It is treason because it is a conspiracy against the lib- 
ei by of the people, and would not only destroy a nation so good, 
so beneficent, but seeks to inaugurate anarchy and ruin in its 
stead. I do not propose to argue the question ; the mere state- 
ment of the proposition is sufficient, but if more were required, 
it' the constitution needs an interpreter more certain than the 
hearts of a patriotic people, I would again bring to mind the 
patriotic sages of the past. The cold, liieless forms of the patri- 
ot -ires who repose at Mount Vernon, at Monticello, at the Her- 
mitage, a1 Marshfield, and at Ashland, rise animate before you 
and utter words of earnest and terrible condemnation against 
this infernal heresy of secession. 

Our national existence is threatened. Already we hear the 
tramp of armed men. American citizens have met American 
citizens in conflict, and patriot and rebel blood have commingled 
upon the same battle Held. The government has resolved upon 
the policy to be pursued, and is devoting its best energies in ar- 
lorces for the struggle. From the plowshare 
the nation is forging swords, and pruning hooks are being trans- 
formed into spears. Fear and hope alternate in every heart, 
remble as they contemplate events. The public 
mind is deeply moved. What has produced this mighty convul- 
sion ? Some cause exists and we may ascertain it without tread- 
ing upon forbidden ground. Lei us examine the question as 
pai riots, and see if we can see the true source of this treasona- 
ble conspiracy against Federal authority. Why then, this at- 
tempt to destroy the Union of the States, and to overturn the 

and freest government the world has ever ^oen ? Is the so- 
lution of this question to be found in the result of the late pres- 
ident id election ? That Mr. Lincoln was elected in strict con- 
formity with the constitution, no one doubts. There is certainly 
nothiug either unusual or dangerous in the legal and peaceful 

aph of the popular will. The righl of the people to deter- 
mine by the arbitrament of the ballot, by whom they shall be 

. iic 1, is and must ever be the corner-stone of a Republican 

nt. It is part of our national pride that under our 

ient, sovereign power resides with the people. 

Those who would attempt to thwart their will when legally 

expressed, by revolt and revolution, inaugurate a bold and fear- 



MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 15 

ful experiment. In popular elections some party must triumph 
— others suffer defeat. To govern in conformity with the consti- 
tution and laws of the conn try is the right of the one, while 
submission by the minority to the will of the majority is a cardi- 
nal one, and no compromise is demanded, and none will be 
demanded to change it. Tested by this acknowledged rule, the 
loyal citizen owes the same allegiance to the government admin- 
istered by Lincoln, that he did in the days of Washington, Jeff- 
erson and Jackson. But we are told that the recent triumph 
of the people was a sectional one, sectional in the geographical 
position of the party, and sectional in view of the principle up- 
on which its supremacy was secured. The charge is made and 
it is denied. I will not pass judgment in the ease, lest I should 
judge as a partisan. Who shall judge the people? Whoso 
pure a patriot that he could hold the balances ol justice evenly 
in such a ease ? To whose arbitrament will politicians submit 
this question of sectionalism'.' I will not assume that the party 
in power or the one out of power, is sectional. It is a ques- 
tion which legitimately belongs at all times to the people. 
For the present they have settled it, and if any feel aggrieved 
by the result, let the question be again submitted to the same 
supreme tribunal, and trust that the people's patriotism and in- 
telligence will cheerfully correct any error that may have been 
been committed. The right was intended, and if wrong has been 
done — if their action has tended to the weakening of the bonds 
that unite these States in a common government, and a common 
destiny, I have sufficent confidence in their prudence and loyal- 
ty to believe that they will at once retrace any inconsiderate 
step they may have taken, or repair any wrong they may have 
done. The constitution recognizes no sections ; it does not re- 
quire a candidate for the Presidency to receive a part or all of 
his vote from a particular locality : it does not demand that he 
shall receive the vote of a single slave State, or of a single free 
State, but provides that whenever he receives a majority of the 
electoral votes he shall bo the legally chosen Chief Magistrate 
of the Confederacy. But the recent election did not transfer the 
power to control the government to the Republican party. While 
in one department — the Executive — it was omnipotent, in two 
others — the Judicial and Legislative — it was absolutely power- 
less. That it is now in power in all these departments is because 
of the rebellion. The treason of certain Representatives and 
Senators in Congress, and of certain Judges, and the pretended 



16 MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 

withdrawal of certain States from the Federal Goverment, has 
giyen it powers that it could not have possessed if every officer 
had been true to his duty and his oath. I speak of this simply 
to prove that this pretext of sectionalism is as base as it is 
groundless. No considerable party exists in the Northern 
•States that meditates an assault upon State rights, or upon 
Southern institutions. While slavery is condemned and ab- 
horred by many, its existence in certain States is recognized as a 
constitutional right with which they have neither the power or 
desire to interfeie. A majority of the people in the non-slave- 
bolding States are opposed to its expansion, to its being extend- 
ed to territories now tree, to bringing slave labor into competition 
with free labor of the white man, but they seek to secure their 
object by no other means than those provided by the constitution. 
They conceive it no more sectional in them to resist slavery ex- 
tent ion, than it is Cor others to insist upon it. They can not see 
why anti-slavery is more sectional than pro-slavery, But there 
is a sectionalism which has had much to do in bringing the pres- 
ent troubles upon the country. When you see a State array it- 
self against the Federal power and resist Federal authority ; 
when you see one section of the Union demand unconstitutional 
concessions and compromises to insure the continuance of its loy- 
alty : when local interests are held to be higher and more sacred 
than the constitution and laws of the government, then you have 
an exhibition of a sectionalism which is the cause of the present 
national commotion. 

There are those who profess to believe that our present calam- 
ities are the results ol the agitation of the slavery question in 
the north. Bark said, years ago, in the oldest existing monar- 
chy in the world, 'that where there was evil there ought to be 
agitation — that it was better to be awakened from our slumber 
by the fire bell, than to perish in the flames.' The free people 
of the North thought that they might speak for the honor and 
ity of the Republic without endangering its existence. 
No wrong to the constitution was intended. Statesman and 
Philosopher, Poet and Divine, the world over had condemned 
I m of human slavery. The civilized world protested 

against it. None have left stronger or more burning words 
of reproach to the institution than slave-holders themselves. 
Turn back but ;t few years in the country's history and you 
find Patrick Henry saying: 'that it is a debt we owe to the 
purity of our religion to show that it is at variance with the 



MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 17 

law which warrants slavery * * * * We ought to lament 
and deplore the necessity of holding our felloe men in bondage." 
Thomas Jefferson could speak of slavery, and tremble when he 
reflected that God was "just and that his justice would not sleep 
forever/' and Washington — the nation's idol — could express the 
ardent hope that some means would be devised for its alolition. 
Henry Clay could denounce it as the "everlasting curse," and 
Randolph, in his place in the Senate, could hurl his bitter sar- 
casms at the "man from the North who attempted to defend it 
upon principle." 

The North taking their political lessons from masters like 
these, learned to believe slavery wrong in morals, and at the 
same time bad political economy ; and while they were wiiling 
to tolerate its existence where it was, thought that every prin- 
ciple of duty in justice called upon them to resist its further 
extension. Upon that platform the political victory of 1860 
was achieved. No intermeddling with slavery in the States was 
contemplated. This embraces the full extent of our offending. 
In all this I can see no wrong — certainly none but that can be 
corrected at the ballot box. Let all this be as it may. At all 
events civil war with its unspeakable calamities, is a poor cor- 
rective. No one but a traitor or a madman would think of 
resorting to so fearful an expedient upon a pretext so paltry 
and contemptible. If war must come — if anarchy must take 
the place of order, it is to be hoped that the Robespierres, Marats 
and Dantons of this conspiracy will find some better excuse than 
this for their carnival of blood. 

But why did we not compromise existing differences and 
save the Union without the sacrifice of life and treasure? Very 
many reasons exist why this course was not adopted. If loyalty 
barters with treason to day, when and where will it end'.' The 
comoromise of to day is but a pretext lor another to-morrow 
and every inch treason exacts, adds to its strength and detracts 
from that of the government. The constitution is itself a com- 
promise, and the administration of the government according to 
its letter and spirit is all that any State has a right to expect or 
demand. The constitution provides ample protection for the 
institution and interests of every section of the country. If 
one provision in it is altered to-day to suit the caprice of some 
fastidious State, for the same reason another must be to-mor- 
row, and thus in a few years the greatest work of the fathers 
will have departed from our government forever. 

3 



18 MORRISTOWN SPEECfl. 

It is true that popular governments like ours must be ad- 
ministered upon principles of mutual concession and forbear- 
ance. If there be conflicting sectional interests, let each section 
exhibit an honest disposition to adjust the trouble. A spirit 
that demands everything — exacts everything, and is willing to 
concede nothing in return, has no element of compromise in it. 

In the opinion of our political gamblers, no wrongs are ever 
committed against human liberty ; they demand no concessions 
to be made to foster the interests of free white labor, but the 
eternal cry has been "slavery and Cotton demand this thins and 
we must give it and save the Union " In this way the Union 
has been saved already too often. Every pretended compro- 
mise has weakened the government and tended to precipitate the 
present condition of things. 

But there has been no existing necessity for a compromise. 
No changes in the law, constitution, or condition of the nation, 
or of any part of it, made concession necessary, or even proper. 
To have made compromise a condition of loyalty was unjust, 
mid the government would not have been true to itself, had it 
submitted to the condition. A compromise under such circum- 
stances, might have secured a temporary peace, but it would 
have done a great wrong to the people. In Athens once, its 
greatest statesman and general, proposed to do a thing of great 
advantage to the Athenians. The matter was referred to Aris- 
tides, a man eminent for hissense of justice, who reported "that 
the enterprise which Themistocles proposed was indeed the most 
advantageous in the world, but at the same time it was the 
most unjust." The Athenians refused the most advantageous 
thing in the world, because it was tainted with injustice. The 
American people have done well in imitating this Athenian 
virtue. A great nation can always aiford to repudiate a wrong 
that would dishonor it. The proposition to compromise was as 
unnecessary as it was unjust. No seeeeding State asked it and 
no one met it in the spirit of kindness. While we were halting 
and parleying, holding mass meetings and conventions, and 
discussing propositions of adjustment, they were arming and 
diilling, lorging swords and casting cannon. They used the 
delay given by the nation, to plunder its arsenals and navy 
yards, and rob its mints. They presented the one alternative to 
the government; either to recognize the independence of the 
Confederate States, or to prepare for war. The government 
dared not accept the one, and the other became a necessity. 



MORP.ISTOWU SPEECH. 19 

But recession had its origin long before 1860. On the 15th 
day of May 1828, the congress of the United States passed a law 
leveying duties on the importation of foreign goods. The act 
levied higher duties than any previous revenue law of the gov- 
ernment. It was passed by a full congress in strict accordance 
with the Constitution, and avowedly for the protection of 
American industry. The Gulf States at once commenced de- 
vising means by which to resist Federal authority, and to pre- 
vent the execution ol the law. They insisted then, as now, that 
the revenue act Was both sectional and unconstitutional. It 
was sectional because it benefited Northern manufacturers, 
while in the South there were none to protect. It was sectional 
for the further reason, that one hundred and five votes against it 
were from the slave States. 

The philosophy of sectionalism is indeed a singular one ; a 
combined pro-slavery interest may thrust any measure upon 
the country, or defeat any object, but let the North do that thing — 
let free labor attempt to thwrat the cherished projects of the 
Cotton power by a united vote, and how soon the howl of sec- 
tionalism resounds from one end of the land to the other. 
Again, it was insisted that this tariff was unconstitutional be- 
cause it imposed unequal taxation. If it was true, the North 
might have claimed that slavery was unjust and anti-Republi- 
can, because it gave unequal representation. However, seizing 
these pretexts, South Carolina immediately commenced pro- 
claiming her resistance to the laws of the government. Hasty 
and heretical then as now, in less than thirty days after the 
passage of the tariff act, a public meeting was held at Walter- 
burough in that State, at which an address to the people was 
adopted, containing the following passage : 

"What course is left to pursue. If we have the common 
pride of men, or the determination of freemen, we must resist 
the imposition of this tariff. To be stationary is impossible, we 
must either retrograde in dishonor and in shame, and receive 
the contempt and scorn of our brethern superadded to our own 
wrongs and their system of oppression strengthened by our tol- 
eration ; or we must " by opposing end them. " In advising an 
attitude of open resistance to iaws of the Union, we deem it due 
to the occasion, and that we may not be misunderstood, distinctly, 
but briefly to state, without argument, our constitutional faith. 
For it is not enough that imposts laid for the protection of 
domestic manufacturers are oppressive, and transfer in their opera- 



20 MORRISTOWN SrEECH. 

tion millions of our property to Northern capitalists. If we 
have given our bond, let them take our blood. Those who 
resist these imposts must deem them unconstitutional, and the prin- 
ciple is abandoned by the payment of one cent as much as ten 
millions." 

Open resistance to the laws of the Union are here explicitly 
proclaimed one-third of a century ago. A state assumes to 
declare in the face of Congress, and in the face of a Supreme 
Court, that a particular law is unconstitutional, and boldly and 
openly defied the nation to execute it. All over South Carolina, 
meetings were held and similar sentiments expressed. The soil 
which grew Tories so abundantly in the Revolution, was prolific 
of traitors. Georgia openly co-operated with South Carolina, 
while Mississippi and the other Cotton States contented themselves 
by more, or less boldly expressing their sympathy with treason. 

In December 1828, the Senate of South Carolina passed a 
resolution condemning the tariff as unconstitutional, asserting 
1hat its enforcement ought to be resisted, and concludes by 
inviting oth--r States to co-operate with her in devising means 
of resistance. Thus thirty-three years ago the State which leads in 
this rebellion, was actively engaged in conspiring against the 
government. Nothing but her weakness prevented her attempt- 
ing to leave the Union then. But the first paroxyms of frenzy 
passed off, and she gradually relapsed into her former condition. 

In 1832, Congress thought best to revise the tariff and modify 
the duties imposed by it, so as to make it less distasteful to t lie 
Cotton States. It was thought to conciliate South Carolina, but 
true to her nature, she grew suddenly furious and would have' 
been out of the Union without the ceremony of a final good bye, 
had not the strong arm of the government been interposed. 
The tariff could not be made to suit our rebellious sister State; 
ir. 1828 it was too high — in 1832 she would not consent to have 
it made lower. The spirit of disunion again became rite within 
her borders: Demagogues advocated it on the stump, and minis- 
ters from the pulpit called the bi^ssmg of God to consecrate 
the treason ; Statesmen give it countenance, and Calhoun pub- 
licaly announced" Nullification tobeapeaceful solution of existing 
difficulties." In 1832. the Legislature called a convention of 
delegates to be elected by the people of the State, "to take into 
consideration the acts of congress of the United States, and to 
devise means of redress." The convention contemplated by the 
Legislature assemble^ on the 19th day of November iu the same. 



MORRISTOWN SrEECH. 21 

year. Treason is always in haste. The people must have no 
time for reflection — no time to allow the passions to cool — for 
reason to assume her sway, lest returning to their allegiance, 
they should put their feet upon the necks of the traitors who 
would have rushed them out of the Union. In this respect the 
conduct of the conspirators was not unlike that of the rebels of 
to-day. They meet and resolve States out of the Union — form 
new gavernments and put them into operation, without thinking 
of submitting their work to a vote of the people. But to pro- 
ceed with the history: The convention of South Carolina had 
met but a brief day, before it arrayed itself in open and flagrant 
hostility to the ^enerU government by adopting the "ordinance 
of Nullification." The title is a curious and interesting speci- 
men of traitorous impudence. It reads : "An ordinance provid- 
ing for arresting the operation of certain acts of the Congress of 
the United States, purporting to be laws laying duties and im- 
posts on the importation of foreign commodities." Think for 
a moment of the monstrous absurdity of the proposition ! A 
State in the Union owing allegiance, bound to aid in its defense, 
and assist in the execution of its decrees, presumes to pass an 
ordinance arresting the operation of the laws within its limits! 
The ordinance next proceeds to pronounce the revenue laws of 
1828 and 1832, "null and void, neither binding upon the State, 
its officers or citizens." It declares it unlawful to attempt the 
collection of duties or the enforcement of these laws within the 
limits of the State. It made the decisions of its own courts 
upon the validity of these laws, final an 1 conclusive, by prohib- 
iting appeals or writs of error from such decisicns to the Federal 
courts. It required every one who held an office of honor, trust 
or profit, civil or military, to take an oath to obey the ordinance 
only, and the laws of the Legislature passed in pursuance 
to it. 

Its iniquities culminated in its final proposition, which declared 
that in casa the general government should employ force to 
carry into effect its laws, or should endeavor to coerce the State 
by shutting up its ports, that South Carolina would consider the 
Union dissolved, and would proceed to organize a separate 
government. I have been somewhat minute in stating the facts, 
that you might, in the meantime, in your own minds, run the 
parallel between that and the present conspiracy. Traitors 
then hated coercion — declared that "coercion was disunion." 
They oQly wanted to be let alone, They did uot intend to 



22 MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 

resist the government, unless the government undertook to en- 
force the laws. It it assumed to do so monstrous a thing as that, 
and war came of it, the United States only would be n to blame, 
because they were forewarned that "coercion was disunion." 
In such an event the traitors would not be responsible for de- 
severing the Union. Northern fanatics only could be blamed 
for foolishly insisting that the constitutional obligations of each 
State should be faithfully and rigidly enforced. Strange logic 
is that of secession ! 

Notwithstanding South Carolina's belligerent attitude, and 
her terrible threats, the government did enforce the revenue 
laws, ami she did not go out — did not proceed to "organize a 
separate government/' Georgia and Mississippi saw in the 
Hashing eye, and determined visage of the hero ot New Orleans 
an unanswerable argument to Nullification. They abandoned 
Palmettodom to its fate. But t lie action of the convention did 
not end the treason of the Carolina Catihnes. Imramediately 
upon its adjournment the Legislature was convened and laws 
were passed to carry into effective operation the ordinance of 
the convention. This Legislature hurriedly adjourned its ses- 
sion upon the promulgation of President Jackson's proclamation. 
The nation had at its head a hero and a patriot equal to emer- 
gencies of the great occasion. He called no convention to pro- 
pose measures of peace and compromise. He held no parley 
with traitors — agreed upon no terms of armistice by which they 
were enabled to make their conspiracy more formidable, So 
lame and impotent a policy found no place in his councils. He 
had taken an oath to preserve the inviolability of the constitu- 
tion, and he kept that oath. General Scott was dispatched to 
Charleston with instructions to put the fortifications there in a 
condition of defense. He was authorized to reinforce the torts 
and he did it. South Carolina was coerced and the Union was 
saved. It has been claimed that all these dangers were averted 
by the compromise of Mr. Clay. I revere the memory of 
Henry Clay; from youth I have been taught to believe him 
the statesman of the age, and I would not pluck a leaf from his 
laurels, but in justice to the history oi my country, I must deny 
that that compromise restored South Carolina to her allegiance. 
The proclamation of the 10th of December, and the vigorous 
ive policy of Jackson, did it. History will so record it — it 
has so recorded it already. 

The Union was saved by the very means that demagogues 



MORJtlSTOWN SPEECH. 23 

how tell us will destroy it. A similar policy employed at the 
beginning of the present lebellion, by the late administration 
would have saved much blood and treasure. The reinforce- 
ment of Moultrie, Sumpter and Pickney might have saved the 
nation. The Federal Government should have shown its teeth 
at the outset. An emphatic " by the eternal " by another Jack- 
son, might 'hen have accomplished what years will now be re- 
quired to pei form, But Jackson is entombed at the Hermitage, 
and it appears that he was "the last ot the Romans." 

''There are but tew giants in these days!" The government 
triumphed over treason in 1832, but did not annihilate it. 
Cotton and traitors are produced by the same soil — treason was 
indigenous in South Carolina. The Cotton States, dissatisfied 
with their connection with the government, have ever since then 
been plotting for its overthrow. Feeling their inability to 
accomplish their purpose at once, they have sought to attain 
tneir object by regular approaches. A series of acts were passed 
by many of these States, in direct conflict with the constitution 
and in violation of the rights of citizens of non-slaveho'ding 
States. Statutes were passed making tree citizens of Massa- 
chusetts and of some of the other New England States, slaves, 
if they entered their ports. When a distinguished and venera- 
ble lawyer of Massachusetts was sent to quietly test the con- 
stitutionality of these laws in their own courts and before their 
own judges, he was seized, mobbed and driven from the State. 
Southern Institutions soon became too sacred for Northern men 
to think ot or talk about. He who dared utter a word against 
the "peculiar institution," became the victim of indignities and 
cruelties insufferable by a brave and a tree people. It was 
thought a reproach to be a Northern man, for a man from the 
North was necessarily an ' Abolitionist." The name of an 
American citizen was no protection even upon American soil. 

The slave power was not only imperious within its own bor- 
ders, but it became dictatorial abroad. It not only managed its 
own affairs at home without interference, but demanded that it 
should be supreme dictator for the general government. It 
became frenzied 'with madness whenever the Representatives of 
a tree laboring North attempted in any way, to provide for the 
protection of labor. 

No tariff suited it — none could be made to suit it. Feeling 
that its power was on the decline, that soon the offices of the 
government and their emoluments might pass from its clutches, 



24 MOHRISTOWN SPEECH. 

it demanded "expansion." When the North faltered, King 
Cotton's statesmen thundered out their treason in the halls of 
the Capitol; and doughfaces tremblingly and submissively 
granted their most extravagant demands. Texas must be an- 
nexed — slavery extended and the Union weakened. That was 
done and another State joined the conspiracy. 

When it was sought to pass the Wilmot proviso, excluding 
slavery from the territory to be acquired under a treaty with 
Mexico, it was only necessary to threaten dissolution and the 
Wilmot Proviso went down forever. California, with a free 
constitution of the people's choice, asked to be admitted into the 
Union as a State, but its admission could not be secured until 
the country was saved by a compromise, containing some fea- 
tures that will ever disgrace the Republic. 

This self-same conspiracy against the government demanded 
the repeal of the Missouri compromise, and deluded many hon- 
est and patriotic men into a support of the measure. It was 
done, but not precisely to its liking. It was soon discovered 
that Popular Sovereignty, honestly and faithfully enforced, 
might prove the death knell of slavery expansion, and required 
the administration of Buchanan to fetter, and manacle freedom 
until slavery could fasten its roots deep and wide in the soil of 
Kansas, The government did its bidding, and the conflict was 
as deplorable as it was terrible. 

Although numerically the lesser power in the government, it 
controlled its offices and patronage. Having less than a third 
of the population, it has ever had two-thirds of the Federal 
offices. This should have satisfied it; but the labor States were 
increasing too rapidly in population and wealth, the scepter was 
departing — and dissolution was immediately, but in strict ac- 
cordance with a long matured plan, adopted as the remedy. 
To fully prepare the Southern mind for the "consummation so 
devoutly to be wished." Southern politicians thought it nec- 
essary to break the last tie that bound them to the government. 
This was done at Charleston. The Democratic party was de- 
stroyed, and its destruction was premeditated. The disruption 
of the party was secured to insure its defeat, that the defeat 
might be used to inflame the Southern heart. Lincoln's elec- 
tion was to be seized upon as a pretext for dissolution. Noth- 
ing was too sacred to escape the touch of the conspirators. 
Everything that could not be moulded to their purpose, they have 
destroyed. Ties, the most binding, have been ruthlessly broken, 



MORRISTOWN SPEECH. 25 

and oaths, the most sacred, have been violated without remorse. 
Southern statesmen thought : 

"To reign was worth ambition, tho' in Hell. 
Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven." 

I have said that this stupendous treason has long been con- 
templated. The proof of the fact is abundant and overwhelm- 
ing. No observer of events for the past few years can for a 
moment doubt it. Why has every recent attempt to increase our 
naval force, or standing army, been so strenuously resisted 9 
Why has so large a number of the arms of the government and 
munitions of war been transferred, in times of profound peace, 
from Northern arsenals and navy yards to those States that were 
first to engage in the rebellion? Why was it, let me ask, that 
our ships of war were sent thousands of miles from our shores 
on cruises ol almost indefinite duration ! Why was our finances 
crippled without cause, and our treasury robbed'.'' But one 
answer can be given; it was to weaken the goveinment, and 
strengthen the hands of the rebels. 

Our officers in the army and navy had been tampered with; 
when tieason first showed its head, they precipitately abandon- 
ed their posts of duty, and disgraced the flag of their country. 
Federal officers unblushingly committed the double crime of 
treason and perjury. 

The President to whom was confided the destinies of a free 
government, freighted with the hopes of millions of free people, 
retained in its councils men, who were plotting the downfall of 
the Republic. 

Patriots in the Cabinet, unwilling to be longer identified with 
the destroyers of their country, resigned their positions. The 
President, while not a conspirator himself, was either utterly in- 
capable of comprehending the treachery of his advisers, or else 
he was too indifferent to make any attempt to avert the impend- 
ing danger. Too long he permitted his confidence to be betray- 
ed by those who were engaged in betraying the nation To 
speak plainly, the administration of James Buchanan, while 
professing to execute the laws and constitution, contributed 
constantly and largely to strengthen the hands of the rebels. It 
gave them the very sinews of war. It put arms and ammuni- 
tion into their hands, and abandoned our forts, arsenals, and 
navy yards to their mercy. It refused to strike when with a 
blow the rebellion could have been annihilated — it refused to 
strike and the government may be lost forever. 

The people were loth to believe that the South was in earnest; 

4 



36 MORFJSTOWN SPEECH. 

that the destruction of a government so beneficent as ours, was 
seriously meditated. It had existed so long, grown so great and 
glorious that they were wont to believe that it was necessarily 
eternal. 

When South Carolina resolved herself out of the Union by 
the action of her convention, it was regarded as but an ebulition 
of passion. When batteries were being built and forts invested, 
and the rebellion became a reality, the public was startled. 
The people were divided as to the means to be employed 
to avert the impending danger. While we quarrelled and 
delayed and recriminated, the work of investment went on. 
We played effectually into the hands of the traitors. We 
abandoned Major Anderson and his gallant little band to their 
fate. We allowed them to be shut up in Sumpter — a wall of 
batteries to be built around them, without making an effort to 
succor or relieve them. No attempt was made to re-enforce our 
own forts, for fear that such an attempt would endanger the 
Union. How short-sighted and cowardly we were ! United 
States ordnance were pointed threateningly towards United 
States forts and upon the National flag — our unarmed ships 
were fired into, and were driven from our ports, and we had not 
the courage to resent the indignity. The war was thrust upon 
the government; no alternative was left the administration but 
to call the people to arms in delense of their institutions, yet 
there are persona whose patriotism is above suspicion, who are 
constantly asking what is this war being prosecuted for? Have 
they heard that the integrity of the government was in iminent 
peril? Heard they the loud-mouthed cannon as they belched 
forth ball and shell upon the government forts in Charleston 
harbor? Do these persons know that our capital is threatened 
by an army of rebels? Knew they all these things, and do 
tin')' feel an honest doubt as to the purposes of the government? 
No man need mistake the object of this war. It is to suppress 
the rebellion, maintain the Union, vindicate the Federal author- 
ity, and to restore the supremacy of the Constitution and laws 
of the United States, to the whole people of the Confederacy. 
It is to put down treason and punish traitors. It is a contest 
fur the unity and the indivisibility of the nation. It is a war 
to preserve the life of the nation, and preserve inviolate the 
constitution made by the fathers. It is waged to save Repub- 
lican institutions, and a free government for the untold genera- 
thal are to come after us. We are engaged in defending 



MORMSTOWN SrEECIT. 27 

the honor and the liberty of the people. For these objects only, 
has the government taken up arms. Are you an American 
citizen, and can you say in your heart, that in such a contest 
you do not sympathize with your country ? When such inter- 
ests are involved, can you refuse to give your warmest and full- 
est support to the nation ? That these are the objects of the 
administration, in resorting to the terrible arbitrament of battle, 
no one need doubt or question. In every proclamation, mes- 
sage or order issuing from the department at Washington, the 
object is stated fully. Every act of the government since this 
struggle commenced, without a single exception, has been en- 
tirely consistent with this policy. It is charged that this is an 
abolition war. The Johnsons and Holts and Crittendens do not 
think so. They are identified with the institution of slavery, 
and they make no such charge upon the administration. Bat 
the question is asked, what will be done with the institution of 
slavery ! I answer, it will not be touched if it does not inter- 
fere with the government. If slaves are employed against us, 
they must be treated as contraband of war. This course is 
dictated by the great law of self-defence. If this war has a 
tendency to weaken the tenure of slavery, it is the fault of the 
rebellion — not of the government in re-asserting itssupremacy in 
the seceeded States. Neither slave nor master must stand in 
the way of the Union. This rebellion formidable as it has 
grown to be, must be suppressed and such means must be em- 
ployed to secure this result, us the future contingencies of the 
contest may demand. I have confidence in the integrity and 
patriotism of the government, and I will not suspect or assail its 
motives, until by its conduct, 1 have reason to believe that it 
is abusing the trust confided to it by a brave and magnanimous 
people. 

Our country however, is infested with a hoard of miserable 
grumblers, who appear determined to find fault with [everything 
the government may find it necessary to do. If our citizen- 
soldiery are called to defend our capital when it is menaced by 
rebels, they say it is unconstitutional ! If the Habeas Corpus is 
suspended within adistrictwherethecivil authorities are in sympa- 
thy with the rebellion, these men cry out "it is unconstitutional." 
I would not abridge the liberty of speech, it is one of the safe- 
guards of public liberty. To the fullest extent consistent with 
public good this right of free speech; is guaranteed to the people, 
.and while it is then* right to criticise freely the acts of their 



28 MORRISTOWN SPEECH 

public servants, there are times when snch criticisms should not 
rankle with the bitterness of partisan animosities. This is not 
the government of a party but of all parties — ind patriotism 
and the safety of the people forbid that it should be abandoned 
to the controle or support of one party. All parties are 
protected by its broad shield, and all should cheerfully unite in its 
defense. Our crilicisms should be honorable and just, and 
with the single view of strengthening and upholding the cause 
of the government against its enemies. Whatever divides and 
distracts, weakens us and strengthens the enemies of the Union; 
and believe me, in this contest., we have less to lear from their 
strength than our weakness. Let discussion be tree, but. let it 
at the same time be just. Do not, lor party purposes, magnify 
little things. Let our mantle of charity be broad. Be not 
hasty to condemn. Regard the spirit, of the act, and from that 
judge the act itself. Do not resort to the trickery anil cunning 
of the demagogue to excite the people against the administra- 
tion, if it evinces an honest, desire to defend the constitution, 
and preserve the liberties of the people. It may not adopt just 
such measures for the public good as you would suggest, hut 
differences of opinion must be expected. There is a period in 
the history of almost every people, when for a time, there must 
exist a higher law than the written constitution, for the "safety 
of a people is always the supreme law of the land." Swear 
your public servants not merely upon constitutions and statutes, 
but swear them by the memories of the past — by the blood of 
patriots, and all that is sacred and holy in our nations history 
to preserve the Republic. Let every thought and act be for the- 
preservation of the Union ; bend every energy toward the ac- 
complishment of this glorious result, and when peace is estab- 
lished — when the country is safe from the infamous hands of 
the traitors who would destroy it, we can return again to our 
party allegiance. Certainly for a time we can forget that we 
are partisans, and elevate country above party platforms. No 
greater mistake can possibly exist, than that when apolitical 
party in the country succeeds in obtaining supremacy, that for 
the time being, the government becomes simply that o( such 
party. Admit the correctness of this theory, and government, is 
practically destroyed. Because one party or the other has 
the assendency, neither absolves the citizen from his allegiance to 
the government, nor it, from its duty to protect the citizen in 
••very legal right., This is the peoples government : they made 



MOKEISTOWN SPEECH. 29 

it — gave its rulers power, and can in the way provided by law, 
deprive them of it. They are the supreme power in the land ; 
the President and cabinet are bat their agents executing dele- 
gated powers. It the government is destroyed it is not the few 
officials merely who will suffer but the whole people. Let trea- 
son triumph, and it does not simply destroy the Republican par- 
ty or the Democratic party, but the constitution and the govern- 
ment of the country, and all parties sink together into a com- 
mon grave to rise no more forever. 

Nothing is to be gained by wanton attacks upon the adminis- 
tration. You may cripple its energies, you may paralyze the 
arm of the patriot — you may encourage and embolden the trai- 
tor, you may possibly succeed in pulling down the pillars of our 
Temple ot Liberty, but be assured you must perish also in the 
ruins. You may protract this struggle — you may increase the 
number of the wounded and slain upon the field of battle, but 
you will live to bear the terrible rebuke of the widow's sigh and 
the orphan's tear, you can earn the reproach which will cling to 
your garments through all coming time — that you aided in the 
destruction of your country. 

Fellow-citizens, do not understand me as attacking any 
political party; nothing could be further from my purpose. 
On the loth day of April, when the cannon of the rebels opened 
upon Fort Sampter, when the thundering of that fearful cannon- 
ading swept over the land, the last party tie was broken. 
Party names and party distinctions were buried, and Republican, 
Democrat and American rallied alike under the bright folds of 
our country's Hag. None have shown a more noble devotion to 
the cause of the Union, than that great party which was defeated 
in the late exciting Presidential contest. It has furnished its 
full proportion oi brave and noble men to fight the battles of 
the constitution. Its Statesmen have, in the main, firmly and 
earnestly stood by the administration and strengthened its hands 
for the conflict. Democratic lathers and mothers have freely 
given up their sons to the country — have sent them to the field 
of battle to maintain the honor of the old Hag of stars and 
stripes, if need be, with their life blood. The leader of that 
party, the great statesman who fought its battles so ably, and 
so valiantly, both in the Senate and on the stump, although now 
an inhabitant of the "city of the dead," forgetting all the exci- 
ting past, came promptly and cheerfully, with his whole heart 
aud soul, to the support of the country. I hud the pleasure of 



30 MORRISTOWN SrEECH. 

hearing the next to the last public speech he ever made, and 
shall never forget how eagerly the people gathered around him, 
and how patiently they stood in the midst of a drenching rain 
to catch the words, big with patriotism as tiny fell from his lips. 
I confess from that time 1 loved Stephen A. Douglas. I felt 
that he was one of the pillars of the confederacy. Butit pleased 
the Almighty to call him from the councils of the country, and 
at a tini" when his loss is truly a national calamity. His dying 
admonition was full of devotion to the Union. He sent his 
sons, with lips almost inarticulate, the request that they "support 
the taws and constitution of the I'nittd /Slates.' Noble senti- 
ment! He will live longer in that dying utterance, than in the 
marble monuments that may be erected to his memory. 

What will lie the result of this war'.' Can the government 
suppress this insurrection? He whose eye alone can pierce the 
future of our history, can answer this question. If we area 
united people — if we stand shoulder to shoulder, we have noth- 
ing to fear. Those who are depressed at our losses will soon be 
cheered up. Brave men are rushing to the rescue by the 
thousand, and to doubt our triumph, is to reproach the just 
providence of God. 

It is however said that Cotton is King, that England and 
France must have it in defiance of the blockade; that one of our 
important measures of defense may involve us in a war with one 
or both of those formidable nations. It is true, that the Gulf 
States furnish seventy-one per cent, of the cotton heretofore 
used, and it is equally true that the closing of their ports will 
seriously embarrass the manufacture of cotton fabrics. But this 
embarrassment must be temporary in the nature of things. 
Europe has already turned its attention towaid India for this 
important staple, and will soon be tinder no necessity of open- 
ing the American ports to procure a supply of that article. 
Indeed, millions of acres, adapted by both soil and climate to the 
production of cotton, may soon be converted into cotton fields. 
Europe is by no means dependent upon the Confederate States. 
Anticipating troubles like the present, she had already begun 
the organization of companies lor t lie cultivation of cotton in 
the Indies. The present rebellion will give vigor and activity 
to this enterprise, and within a few years King Cotton will find 
a competitor, in the markets of the world more formidable, than 
i hat has ever met him before. The genius of the age will 
soon supply the article in abundance. But cotton is nut king. 



MORtllSTOWN SPEECH. 81 

The world could do without it. From the almost endless quan- 
tities of wool, flax, jute, and hemp now produced, fabrics of al- 
most every conceivable kind, can be made both durable and 
cheap. Necessity will stimulate inventive genius, until soon a 
substitute will supply its place. It will lose more— infinitely 
more than it will make by this rebellion. There ismoreinvolved 
in this contest than the mere loss of cotton bales. England and 
France cannot afford to involve themselves in the present con- 
test, even if every loom, supplied with material by the Gulf 
States, had to stand idle. To break our blockade, would be to 
declare war against us; and to prosecute that war would cost 
them more, by odds, than to support at the government expense, 
every person thrown out of employment for want of cotton. It 
wouid be exceedingly bad economy for these governments to 
pursue a belligerent policy toward us. 

Then the sympathies of the masses of the people are with the 
North, and if their government espouse the cause of the rebels, 
they may have trouble with their own refractory subjects. 

Europe has other interests to foster, this side of the Atlantic, 
than that of her trade in cotton. The North exports and im- 
ports largely — She feeds five millions of French and British 
subjects. War would cut off this trade between them and us. 
Northern ports would be closed to their imports. The products 
of our abundant harvests would no longer seek a market in 
French or British ports. Cotton might be procured; but it 
would be at a loss of bread. The United States, broken and 
distracted as they are, have still some power left that Europe 
might feel. Insurrections and rebellions ought not to be in good 
repute in a monarchy that has already felt the heavy stroke of 
the guillotine beheading its kings and queens, and saturating its 
soil with the best blood of its nobility. France should remem- 
ber 17U3 and 1848. 

England ought to know the precarious tenure of its union. 
Its Robert Emmets and Home Tookes are not nil dead yet. 
Some of its possessions have shown symptoms of disloyalty. 
Canada may become infected with the secession mania, and Eng- 
land should remember that the United States bound it on the 
South. 

Let the result be what it may, whether we are reunited or 
continue a dissevered people ; whether our nation be one of thir- 
ty-four States, or of twenty-three States, we must still continue 
a power of importance among the nations of the world. Every 



MORRISTOWN SrEECH. 



year will increase our wealth and our population, and in a 
quarter of a century we will have attained an addition to our 
numbers that will more than supply the loss incurred by the 
secession of the rebel States. The people of the old world know 
this, and they know, too, that they cannot afford to incur our 
displeasure upon trifling pretexts. 

Come what will, we must now light tin's battle to the end; 
until we can conclude it upon terms ol honorable, perpetual and 
enduring peace. 

Let this war eventuate as it may —whether the nation be de- 
stroyed oi' its supremacy vindicated, the man who has been 
known in the loyal States to sympathize with this crime against 
the Union, and Constitution, will receive the merited execration 
of his countrymen through all corning time. 

Those who advocate secession — peaceable secession as a rem- 
edy for existing evils, know very little of the temper of the 
country. Jt is no time to cry peace ; we must buckle on the 
armor of the warrior, and fight — fight until traitors lay down 
their arms and sue for peace. 

No patriot should despond. Our government has not fully 
performed its mission. The Almighty will preserve it ami 
guide it safely through the storms that threaten it. The great 
future has much in store for us yet. For one, I will not believe 
that this experiment of a Republican government is so soon to 
prove a failure. The temple of our liberty was reared by our 
fathers upon foundations too solid to be tottering to their tall in 
the brief period of three-quarters of a century. 

With the great Webster 1 can devoutly pray, that "when my 
eyes shall be turned, to behold lor the last time, the sun in 
Heaven, may 1 not see him shining on the broken and dissevered 
fragments of a once glorious Union; on States dissevered, dis- 
cordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched 
it may be, in fraternal blood. Let their last feeble and linger- 
ing glance, rather behol d the georgeous ensign of the Republic, 
now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high 
advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original lus- 
tre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured — 
bearing for its motto no such miserable intei rogatory as, What 
'is all this worth? nor those other words of delusion and folly, 
Liberty first and Union afterviards : but every where, spread all 
over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, 
as they float over the sea and over the land, in every wind 



GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 3«J 

under the whole heavens, that other. sentiment, dear to every true 
American heart— Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and 
inseperable! " 

This noble effort was listened to by a large concourse of patri- 
otic people. It punctured the bubble of secession, and laid bars 
the long contemplated treason of the rebels. It is not surpris- 
ing that such masterly efforts should batter down party distinc- 
tions, and unite the people on an elevated platform of patriotism. 

Early in the year 1862, General Browne entered the United 
States service as an Aid-de-camp, on the staff of General Thomaa 
J. Wood, and served with that General 'till after the battle of 
Shilo, and during a part of the time of the seige of Corinth. 
While before Corinth, he was stricken down by disease, and for 
months his life trembled in the balance. He was taken to hia 
home and finally recovered his usual health. 

At the October election, in 1862, he was elected to represent 
Randolph county in the Senate of the Legislature of Indiana. 

The ensuing session of that body convened at Indianapolis, on 
the 8th day of January, 1863 The Senate was called to order 
by Thomas M. Browne, its principal Secretary of the previous 

session. 

On the same day he presented his credentials as Senator-Elect 
from Randolph county, and was sworn into office. Although 
one of the youngest Senators, yet he became the acknowledged 
leader of the Republicans in the Senate. A ready and eloquent 
debater, thoroughly versed in the political history of the coun- 
try, and an able lawyer, he was eminently qualified for that 
responsible position. 

The Democrats had a majority in the Legislature of 1863, and 
they assumed an undisguised attitude of hostility to the admin- 
istration of President Lincoln, and of Governor Morton. They 
were opposed to the suppression of the rebellion by force of arms, 
and wanted to maintain slavery, the Union, and the Constitu- 
tion as they were. They denounced the Emancipation Procla- 
mation of President Lincoln as executive usurpation. They 
were extremely hostile to the action of the President in sup- 

3 



34 GENERAL THOMAS M- BROWNE. 

pressing, in certain disloyal districts, the writ of Habeas Corpus. 

The Legislature convened on the anniversary of the battle of 
New Orleans. About the first thing Senator Browne did was 
to remind the Democratic members of their inconsistency. Af- 
ter organizing in the morning, the Senate adjourned until two 
o'clock in the afternoon. The roll-call in the afternoon, disclosed 
the fact, that there was not a quorum present. Senator Browne 
arose and said, he hoped the further call of the roll would be 
suspended and the absent members excused, because it being the 
anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, the absent Republicans 
were celebrating the occasion, because it was the anniversary of 
the day on which General Jackson whipped the British ; and the 
absent Democratic members were celebrating it, because it wal 
the anniversary of the suspension, by General Jackson at New 
Orleans, of the writ of Habeas Corpus. The point will be un- 
derstood when it is remembered, that with Democrats, Jackson 
wasauthority not to be questioned, and at that time, the Democrats 
were complaining loudly of President Lincoln, for suspending the 
writ, a proceeding all wrong when done by Lincoln, but all 
right when done by Jackson. 

For the purpose of compelling the Democratic members to 
place themselves on record, either for or against a vigorous 
prosecution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion, on 
the 10th of January, he introduced this resolution: 

"1. Resolved, That we are in favor of a vigorous prosecution of 
the present war, within the limits of the Constitution, and in 
accordance with the recognized usages of civilized warfare, for 
the suppression of the rebellion, and the restoration of the union 
of all the States; and that all necessary appropriations should 
be made by this General Assembly to assist the State in answer- 
ing all requisitions of the general Government in the payment 
of any proper expenses that have accrued, that have not hereto- 
fore been provided for; and are opposed to obstructing, in any 
manner whatever, the general Government in the exercise of any 
of its powers." 

This resolution was referred to a select committee of nine, 
consisting of six Democrats and three Republicans. After tak- 



GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 35 

ing the matter under advisement, the Democratic portion of the 
committee, submitted a majority report, in which they say, "As 
it regards the subject matter of the first resolution we know of 
no disposition or intention on the part of any member of this 
body, or of the dominant political paity in the State, to inter- 
fere with the exercise of the rightful powers of the general Gov- 
ernment, for the purpose of putting down the rebellion and pre- 
serving the national Government under the Constitution. Yet 
we do not desire to conceal the fact that we are opposed to much 
of the policy and conduct of the Administration in its so-called 
efforts to accomplish those desirable objects ; and especially are we 
opposed to the Emancipation Proclamation, of September the 
22d. 1862, and the entire negro policy of the radicals, who now, 
unfortunately, have controll of the Government, believing that 
such policy is calculated to destroy, and not preserve the Union 
and constitutional liberty. And in proof of these opinions, we 
refer, with pain, to the deplorable condition of our national 
affairs, which we believe, is the legitimate result of the cause stated. 
'The Constitution as it is' and the ' Union as it was,' with the 
Negro where he is,' is our motto; and at the proper time we will 
probably elaborate our views upon these important subjects, so 
as to give a full and fair expression of the voice of Indiana upon 
all the questions connected with the momentous crisis of the 
country — an expression in accordance with the sentiments of the 
loyal ptople of Indiana, as foreshadowed by the ballot box at the 
recent election." 

In the opinion of those patriotic Democratic Senators, the de- 
plorable condition of the country was not the result of treason, 
but of the "Negro policy of the radicals who had control of the 
Government." And they intended to give a full and fair ex- 
pression of the voice of Indiana upon all the questions connected 
with the crisis of the country. 

The soldiers of Indiana, with their guns, upon nearly every 
battle-field of the rebellion, spoke the voice of Indiana, on all 
those questions, and after laying King Cotton, Slavery, Secession, 



•36 GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 

States rights, chivalry and treason, in the same bloody grave, 
they proudly returned to their noble State, with their "motto" 
emblazoned on their battle-rent flags — 

'• Freedom to all, even to the despised slave ! " 

And the people of the United States not satisfied with the 
Constitution as it was, changed it. They " put God in the Con- 
stitution by recognizing the rights of hia creature, man." 

The minority submitted a report, offering an additional reso- 
lution as an amendment, and recommending the adoption of 
Senator Browne's resolutions. A Democratic Senator moved to 
lay the minority report on the table, which motion prevailed by 
a strict party vote. The ayes and noes were demanded and 
ordered, and thus the Democratic Senators placed themselves on 
record against the resolution, to which no patriot could have 
had the slightest objection. 

Senator Browne offered resolutions recommending the aboli- 
tion of the Common Pleas Court, and the transfer of all cases 
pending in those couits, to the Circuit courts, and conferring 
the jurisdiction the former court had on the latter. Such a law 
was enacted by the Legislature of 1873. He was an earnest ad- 
vocate of the Grand Jury system. 

After the close of the Legislature, General Browne recruited 
company " B " of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, and was commis- 
sioned captain of the company. He was soon after promoted 
Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. 

He shared with it, the dangers, fatigues, and privations of all 
its most trying and dangerous expeditions and battles. In the 
battle of Okolona, fought February 22d, 1864, by his courage 
and coolness, he did more than any other man to maintain in- 
tact the organization of the regiment, a thing most difficult to 
do, with the wild confusion and riot reigning supreme around it. 

At the battle of Brice's Cross Reads, June 10th, 1864, his 
courage and skillful management of his regiment, won the en- 
thusiastic admiration, not only of General Grierson, but of every 
man in the army. He was the hero of that bloody but ill-fated 



GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. ST 

field. With but a handful of men, he held r,he key of the Fed- 
eral position, against the repeated and desperate attempts of 
Forrest to carry it. When the rebels were flanking him with 
one column, and attacking him in front with a line but a few- 
feet from his position, he withdrew his regiment under a galling 
fire, and formed it in another a few rods to the right and rear,. 
and compelled his adversaries to keep at a respectful distance. 
When the battle was raging fiercest, and the lines were but a 
few feet apart, his horse, a present to him from company "B," 
was shot under him, himself wounded in the ankle, and his or- 
derly killed at his side. He did not for an instant lose his 
presence of mind, but issued his commands in a stentorian voice 
that was heard above the din of conflict. 

Early in October, 1864. on account of his known ability as a 
lawyer, he was selected as President of a Military Commission 
to convene at Memphis, for the trial of such cases as might be 
brought before it. He took his seat as such, on the 10th day of 
October, 1864. 

The most important case tried before the Commission, was 
that of " Dick Davis" the guerrilla. That man, on account of 
his bloody cruelty, had been the terror of the country within a 
radii of fifty miles of Memphis. He was captured by Captain 
Skolton on the 2d of October, and put on trial for being a guer- 
rilla. On the 11th of October, his trial commenced. H^ was 
ably defended by counsel, who did their utmost to secure the 
acquittal of their notorious client. But all their arts were turn- 
ed to confusion, by the watchful, able and sagacious President 
of the court. The trial ended on the loth of December, 18*>4,. 
and resulted in the conviction of the prisoner. The findings of 
guilty and sentence of death by the court, were approved by 
General Dana. On the 23d of December, 1864, within the walk 
of Fort Pickering, at Memphis, Dick Davis suffered death by 
hanging. An interesting account of his trial and execution, writ- 
ten by General Browne himself, will be found in chapter 14. 

He remained on duty as President of the military court tilt 



Ob GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 

some time in January 1865, when he returned to and assumed 
command of the regiment. From that time until the final mus- 
ter out of the regiment, he was in reality its commander. 

When the regiment was consolidated at Hempstead , Texas, he 
became its Colonel. 

" For gallant and meritorious conduct," he was commissioned 
by the President of the United States, Brevet Brigadier Gener- 
al of Volunteers, to date from March 13th, 1865. 

During the winter of 1865-6, he was commandant of the mili- 
tary post of Sherman, in the northern part of Texas. By his 
firmness and kindness, he won the respect and confidence of the 
people, and when he departed, he left behind him many warm 
personal friends. 

After he was mustered out of the service, he returned to his 
home at Winchester, Indiana, and entered earnestly on the prac- 
tice of his profession. But he was not permitted to remain long 
in private life. In 1866, he was appointed by the President, 
United States District Attorney for the District of Indiana. He 
discharged the dutie. of that office for a number of years with 
distinguished success. 

In 1870, he formed a copartnership with Jonathan W. Gordon 
and Judge Robert N. Lamb, for the piactiee of law at Indiana- 
polis. The firm name being Gordon, Browne & Lamb. He 
remained in business with those gentlemen until June 1876, 
when he returned to his old home at Winchester. 

Although a poor man at the close of the war, yet by his close 
attention to his profession since, he has succeeded in accumulat- 
ing a moderate fortune. 

Although a thorough statesman, yet he is more widely known 
as a great lawyer. Thoroughly groundelin the principles of 
jurisprudence, and master of a peculiar forensic eloquence, there 
are few lawyers who wield a greater influence in the courts than 
himself. He is particularly strong before juries. Fully six feet 
in height, as straight as an arrow, compactly and firmly built, 
from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, he is a gentle- 



GENERAL THOMAS M. BROWNE. 39 

man of commanding presence. His blue eyes now twinkling 
with mischievous fun, now flashing with indignation, as he em- 
ploys judiciously, the weapons of the orator, irony, sarcasm, wit, 
lmmcr and ridicule, he moulds his "twelvers" to his will. No 
man has a better enunciation. The words come from his lip.s 
like coin fresh from the mint. Although elaborate, yet he never 
uses a superfluous word. Even in ordinary conversation his 
language is chaste and precise, yet it comes with such ease and 
grace, that' it never fails to interest and charm the listener. 

In 1872, he was nominated at Indianapolis, by the Republi- 
can State Convention, as the Republican candidate for 
Governor. Of this important event in his career, Jonathan W. 
Gordon, the great lawyer and advocate of Indianapolis, says : 

" It was while pursuing the even tenor cf his way as a citizen 
and officer of the government, that some friend mentioned his 
name in connection with the office of Governor oi Indiana, a 
distinction at which, the writer has reason to know, he never 
had aimed, and of which it may be doubted whether he had ev- 
er so much as thought. Once publicly mentioned for the place 
it soon became apparent that he would be selected. The young 
men of his party everywhere were for him, and, without effort 
on his part, he was chosen by the Republican State Convention 
of Indiana, on the second ballot, as its standard-bearer in the 
ensuing political contest over two of the ablest and most deserv- 
edly popular men in the State — Godlove S. Orth and Gen. Ben. 
Harrison. It was a proud day for the lonely orphan who had 
been left among strangers without means or friends at the age 
of thirteen, when that great convention — the greatest in many 
respects that ever assembled in the State — called him to the 
front and placed in his hands the battle-scarred flag of union, 
of law, and of liberty, and made him its bearer, and the guardian 
in the coming strife of all its glorious memories, its undying 
hopes, 'its honor's stainless folds.' As he came forward, that 
vast assembly was swept by the spirit of the deepest enthusiasm, 
and greeted him with cheers and shouts that sprung spontau- 



40 GENERAL THOMAS M. BRoWXE. 

*ou*ly from the hearts and lips of thousandi made on* by the 
same inspiration." 

He had for hie competitor in that political campaign, the 
present Governor of Indiana, Thomas A. Hendricks. General 
Browne made an able and thorough canvass of the State. In 
every county he eloquently advocated the "undying principles'' 
of his party, but the fortunes of the day were against him. 

Socially he is genial and polite. As a friend he is steadfast. 
As an adversary he is honorable, relying solely on truth and rea- 
son. At Winchester every one becomes enthusiastic at the men- 
tion of the name "General Tom Browne" as he is familiarly called. 

At the October election, 1876, Gen. Browne was elected on 
the Republican ticket, as representative for the Fifth Congress- 
ional District, in Congress, over Judge Holman, Democrat, by a 
majority of fifteen hundred Gen. Browne had a large Demo- 
cratic majority to overcome. The fact of his election with the 
chances against him, shows the estimation in which he is held by 
the people of his district. 



BREVET MAJOR GENERAL JOHN P. C. SHANKS. 

The paternal ancestors of John P. C. Shanks came to this 
country from Ireland, '"n an early period of oar colonial history. 
His grandfather, Joseph Shanks, fought under the banners of 
Washington, through the revolutionary war, and took part in 
the battle of Yorktown, the last of the engagements fought for 
national independence. His father, Michael Shanks served as a 
soldier through the war of 1812, and an elder brother through 
the Mexican war. Thus it will be seen that the subject of this 
sketch is a descendant from a military family. 

John P. C. Shanks was born on the 17th of June, 1826, at 
Martinsburg, Virginia. In 1839, his father, on account of hia 
hostility to the institution of slavery, left Virginia and settled 
in Jay county, Indiana, which at that time was a wilderness. 
Michael Shanks and his family endured the hardships and pri- 
vations of pioneer life. It required all their time with their 
strong arms to hew out a home in the forests of Jay county. 
John P. G. Shanks enjoyed but few advantages of schools either 
in Virginia or at his new home in Indiana. The time from his 
fifteenth to his seventeenth year, being disabled for labor by 
rheumatism, he industriously employed in the acquisition of 
learning under the instruction of his father, who was a good 
scholar. He continued his studies on regaining his health, dur- 
ing the hours not devoted to labor for his father, or in necessary 
slumber. By the fire-light at home, and the camp-fires in the 
woods, on the highway while driving his team, and while hold- 
ing the plow in the field, he studied his book, an earnest devotee 
at the shrine of learning. Poasibly the history of no American 
who has risen to eminence, will show the acquisition of knowl- 
edge under more adverse circumstances. Our Revolution 
wrought changes other than those of government. It battered 



4 '2 GENERAL JOHN P. C. SHANKS. 

down a titled nobility, and erected one based on intellect and 
worth of character. It placed within the reach of the lonely 
plow-boy the highest positions of honor, trust and profit. The 
American youth, concious of this, have striven through difficul- 
ties that seem insurmountable, and have finally reached the 
acme of their ambition. The people thoroughly imbued with 
the principles developed by the Revolution, have always 
delighted to advance their self-made men. They 
can more surely rely upon them. They are of the 
people, know their hardships, toils and necessities by experience, 
and when elevated to positions of honor, are faithful to their 
trusts. The people of -Jay county, and of the congressional dis- 
trict to which it is attached, have not been forgetful of John P. 
C. Shanks. He resolved to make a lawyer of himself, but had 
not the means to pursue the study .of law. To acquire them 
he worked at the carpenter's trade in the State of Michigan. In 
1847, he began the study of law in Jay county. To pay for hia 
board while pursuing his studies, he worked a portion of the 
time, while not unmindful of his filial duties, he devoted every 
third week to labor for his father an the farm. 

During the year 1850, he was acting Auditor of Jay county. 
In that year he was admitted to practice law, and in the follow- 
ing autumn was, by the unanimous vote of both political parties, 
elected prosecuting attorney of the Circuit court. That was a 
flattering recognition of his ability as a young lawyer and of his 
worth as a citizen. 

In early life, he was, in politics a Whig and as such was, in 
1853, elected to the Legislature of Indiana. Two years later he 
was a candidate for re election, but was defeated as the temper- 
ance candidate, and because he was known to ; be in favor of legal 
prohibition. 

In 1860. he was elected, on the Republican ticket, a represen- 
tative from Indiana to the Thirty-Seventh Congress. The black 
1 of rebellion had broken on the country, and hostilities in- 
augurated by the rebels by '. he bom! ar Iment o " Fort Sumpter. Con- 



GENERAL JOHN P. C. SHANKS. 4 > 

gress was convened in special- session by the proclamation of the 
President, for the purpose of providing the means for the prosecu- 
tion of the war. On July 4th, 1861, Gen. Shanks took his seat 
in Congress. While it was in session the- rebels were concentrat- 
ing their forces in the neighborhood of Manassas Junction. The 
fip3t battle of Bull Run was fought on the 21st" of July. 1861. 
Gen. Shanks, unable- to sit idly by when a great conflict was to 
occur, voluntarily took part in the battle, and by great exer- 
tions; succeeded in rallying a large number of the fugitives 
from that bloody field. For his valuable services in that battle, 
he was tendered by President Lincoln the commission of Brigadier 
General, which he declined on the ground that none should be 
promoted until they had proved themselves competent to com- 
mand. After the adjournment of congress, he accepted an ap- 
pointment on the staff of Gen. John C. Fremont, as volunteer aid- 
de-camp, and served with him in Missouri. When Fremont was 
superseded, Gen. Shanks remained with his successor, Gen. Hunter, 
until the reassembling of Congress. He offered a resolution in Con- 
gress declaring that the constitutional power to return fugitive 
slaves to their masters, rests solely with the civil department of the 
government, and that the order of the. Secretary of War to 
General Wool to return a slave to Mr. Jessop of Maryland, was 
an assumption over the civil law and the rights of the slave. 
Congress sustained him in his position. On the 4th of March, 
1862, he made an able speech in Congress, vindicating the 
course pursued by General Fremont in Missouri, and sustaining 
his proclamation giving freedom to the slaves of rebels. It will 
be remembered that that proclamation, through the intrigues of 
the unscrupulous demagogue, Frank P. Blair, was made one of 
the causes for the removal of Fremont. That General is amply 
vindicated by subsequent history. It proves that Fremont in 
the field, and Shanks, in Congress had clearer conceptions of the 
war and its final termination, than some of the leading politicians 
of those days. Freedom was given not only to the slaves of 
rebels, but to every bondman, and bondwomen aud child in the 
United States. 



44 GENERAL JOHN P. C. SHANKS. 

Aft*? the close of that session of Congress, Gen. Shanks 
a$ain served on the staff of Fremont, in hie campaign in Weet 
Virginia. 

By order of Governor Morton, dated June 24th, 1863, h« re- 
cruited the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. When that regiment was 
raised, he was commissioned its Colonel. He gave all his time 
and energy to arming, equiping, drilling, and fitting the regi- 
ment for active service. He commanded it in all its operations 
till after its return to Memphis from the unfortunate expedition 
to West Point, Mississippi, in February 1864. At Ivy Farm, 
February 22d, 1864, he received from the lips of General Smith 
himself, the order to charge, and had the honor of striking the 
last blow, that saved the greater portion, if not the entire army 
from capture. After his return from that expedition, his health 
was broken down, and for a time, he was compelled to retire 
from active service. In February 1864, he was commissioned a 
Brevet Brigadier General, for gallant and meritorious services. 
As soon as his health permitted he was assigned to the command 
of a brigade of cavalry. That separated him from the regiment 
during the most of the remainder of its service. He command- 
ed a brigade of cavalry under Brevet Brigadier General Osborn, 
on the expedition to Bastrop, Louisiana, in the Spring of 1865. 

On the recommendation of E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, 
he was breveted Major General of volunteers. 

On the 18th of September, 1865, at Hempstead, Texas, he was 
mustered oat of the service, on the consolidation of the regiment, 
and immediately started for his home. 

In 1866, he was elected, as the Republican candidate, to the 
Fortieth Congress. He introduced a resolution for the appoint- 
ment of a committee to inquire into the treatment of Union 
prisoners. After a long and patient investigation, the commit- 
tee, of which General Shanks was chairman, submitted an elab- 
orate report. Subsequently in an address to the Grand Army 
of the Republic, in speaking of the treatment of union prisoners,, 
he said : 



GENERAL JOHN P. C. SHANKS. 45 

"I hope that the high moral, political, and military position 
of our people wi'll enable our government to procure the adop- 
tion in the laws of nations' of a provision that the captives in 
war shall not be personally retained as prisoners ; but shall, un- 
der a flag of truce, be returned to their own lines or vessels, and 
paroled until properly exchanged, so that the books of the com- 
missioners of exchange of the respective belligerents shall deter- 
termine the relative advantages in captives, and thus the hor- 
rors and sacrifices of prison life be prevented." All christian 
people will earnestly pray that such wdl become one of the rulea 
ot civilized warfare. He supported in a speech the bill of Mr. 
Logan, to furnish to disabled soldiers, free of expense to them- 
selves, artificial limbs, claiming that it was the duty of the gov- 
ernment to put them in as good a condition so far as possible, 
as they were before being injured. He wa3 re-elected to Con- 
gress term after term until 1874, when he was defeated by 
Judge Holman. 

He is an able lawyer, and an eloquent speaker, »nd has a 
ripe experience in our governmental affairs. 



PART II. 
History oj the Seventh Indiana- Cavalry. 
CHAPTER I. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. 

The Seventh Indiana Cavalry, or One hundred and nineteenth 
Regiment of Volunteers, was organized pursuant to the follow- 
ing order : 

General Orders. 

State of Indiana, Adjutant Guneral's Office > 
Indianapolis, June 24, 1863. j 

SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

By virtue of authority from the Seiretary of War, another 
regiment of cavalry will be raised in this State immediately, to 
serve for three years or during the war. The regiment will be 
recruited in accordance with the rules and instructions in Gen- 
eral Orders No. 75, of the War Department series of 1863. 

The privilege will be accorded to each Congressional District, 
to furnish one company for the regiment, if organized and re- 
ported within thirty days. If companies are not likely to be 
raised in any of the Districts within that time, companies from 
any part of the State will be accepted. 

The regiment will consist of twelve companies, and be officer- 
ed as follows: 

One Colonel, one Lieutenant Colonel, three Majors, one Sur- 
geon, two Assistant Surgeons, one Adjutant, one Quartermaster, 
one Commissary (extra Lieutenant), one Chaplain, one Veterina- 
ry Surgeon, one Sergeant Major, one Quartermaster Sergeant, 
one Commissary Sergeant, two Hospital Stewards, one Saddler 
Sergeant, and one Chief Trumpter. 

Each company will be organized with one Captain, one First 
Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, one First Sergeant, one 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 47 

Quartermaster Sergeant, one Company Sergeant, five Sergeants, 
eight Corporals, two Teamsters, two Farriers, one Blacksmith, 
one Saddler, one Wagoner, ;*nd seventy-eight Privates. Aggre- 
gate, 103. 

Any company of fifty-two men will be accepted and mustered 
with a Frst Lieutenant, and if they fail to fill up within a reas- 
onable time, they will be consolidated with other parts of com- 
panies. The right is reserved to combine incomplete companies 
or parts of companies, after a fair opportunity has been afforded 
them to fill up. 

In combining parts of companies the following distribution 
of officers is suggested, and parts of companies will be accepted 
with a view to making such combinations : 

For forty-five men, a Captaincy. 

For thirty-five men, a First Lieutenancy. 

For twenty-five men, a Second Lieutenancy. 

Colonel J. P. C. Shanks has been appointed Commandant of 
the camp of rendezvous for said regiment, and will be obeyed 
and respected accordingly. 

Applications for authority to recruit companies may be filed 
at these headquarters, or with the commandant. 

Camp Morton will be the rendezvous of said Regiment. 

Eecruiting officers and others raising companies, may contract 
for the subsistence and lodging of recruits at places away from 
the camp of rendezvous, for a period not exceeding one week, 
at not exceeding thirty cents per day, and the accounts therefor 
properly verified by the recruiting officer, and approved by the 
Governor, or Adjutant General, will be paid by the U. S. Dis- 
bursing officer, provided the recruits so subsisted are received 
into the United States service. 

When companies have been accepted they will be furnished 
with transportation passes to enable them to reach the rendez- 
vous. 

$25 OF BOUNTY IN ADVANCE. 

Every volunteer shall receive in advance twenty-five dollars 
of the one hundred dollars bounty, to be paid him im- 
mediately upon the muster of such regiment into the service. 

By order of his Excellency, 

0. P. Morton, Governor. 

Laz. Noble, Ad'jt Gen. Ind. 

From all parts of the State, companies were recruited for this 



43 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

regiment. Ou their arrival at Indianapolis they rendezvoused 
at Camp Shanks. 

The regimental officers were as fullows: Colonel, John P. C. 
Shanks; Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas M. Browne; Majors, Chris- 
tin ii Beck, Samuel E. W. Simonson, and John C. Febles; Adju- 
tant, James A. Ph'e; Quartermaster, John W. Martin; Com- 
missary, First Lieutenant, Holliday; Chaplain, James Mar- 
quis; Surgeon, William Freeman; Assistant Surgeon, Joshua 
Chitwood, promoted to Surgeon, May 11th, 1864, vice William 
Freeman dismissed; Veterinary Surgeon, Lysander F.Ingram; 
Hospital Steward, Daniel B. Roether, 

The regiment was composed of the following companies: 

Company A. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain— sTohn 0. Febles of Valparaiso, Indiana, promoted to 
Major, October 27th 1863. John R. Parmelee, of Valparaiso, 
.promoted from First Lieutenant, viae Fekles, promoted to 
Major. 

First Lieutenant — Henry S. Stoddard, of Valparaiso, commis- 
sioned First Lieutenant, but did not muster as such. Resigned 
as Second Lieutenant, Nov. 25th, 1863. 

John Donch, of Valparaiso, commissioned Second Lieutenant, 
bat being immediately promoted to First Lieutenant vie* Stod- 
dard resigned, he did not muster as Second Lieutenant, but 
mustered as First Lieutenant, November 25th, 1863. 

Second Lieutenant — John C. Hanson, of Valparaiso, and a 
private of company G, was commissioned Second Lieutenant of 
this company, and mustered as such November 26th, 1863. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant — Charles H. Gleason of Valparaiso. 

Sergeants — Francis J. Miller, Americus Baum, Edmond L. 
Robinson, promoted to First Sergeant, on promotion of Charles 
II. Gleason to Second Lieutenant ; Benjamin M. Brown, Albeit 
II. Ja<:kson. 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALBY. 49 

Carporals, Rufus H. Norton, George K. Ritter, John Marsh, 
Avery Jones, deserted Oct. 4th, 1863 ; William Gogan, Henry 
Fairchild, and Orin S. Clark. 

Musicians, Charles M. Gogan, Cornelius O'Neal, Samuel H. 
Jones. 

Saddler, William A. Wise. 
Wagoner, Rieden McDorman. 

Privates, Stillman F. Andrews, Stephen Adams, Perry Bran- 
don, Orlando Bagley, George Bundy, Clark B. Booth, John 
Brock, Levi B. Bible, Cleveland A. Bishop, William Curtis, John 
R. Crawford, William Crawford, John Clark, Henry W. Clark, 
Cassius Clark, John W. Cook, James Demmick, Samuel P. Dunn, 
Elias Davis, Clark S. Durkee, James A. English, Joseph Earnest, 
James Eahart, George W. Easterly. Franklin Furguson, Henry 
Fisher, Francis Foley, George Frazee, Thomas Fox, Wm. Gardner, 
Norah H. Gordon, Adolphus Hardesty, James G. Hughs, Ber- 
zillian Homer, Nicholas Haskins, George W. Huntington, Geo. 
W. Jones, David Ketchall, Wesley B. Kelley, Perry Lageston, 
Moses Livingstone, John W. Matheny, Alonzo McMurphy, 
Abram McArty, Henry B. Miller, Isaac J. Margeston, William 
McWindle, Isaac R. McBride, James M. C. Meyers, John R. 
Mills, Felix J. Murphy, William Mossholder, Thomas Nickson, 
Winfield Pierce, Lewis Porter, James W. Pollett, Noah F. Roda- 
baugh, Sumner T. Robinson, Hiram Ramey, Rheimer Roweder, 
Allen Rains, James T. Ragan, James Spaulding, John H. Skin- 
ner, William C. Sparks, James Smith, Thomas H. Smith, Lyman 
Temple, John W. Trubarger, James M. Williams, Alvin Welch, 
Clark S. Williams, Sylvester B. Willis, George A. Youngs, 
William Younglove, John B. Brewer, Charles P. Smith. 

Mustered into service August 24th, 1863. 

Mustered as recruits, William Ayers, John Davis, James 
Hodges, William Leaky, Leny Maulsby, Jack Robinson, John 
Seibert, Oliver P. Saint. 



50 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Company B. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, 

Captain, Thomas M. Browne, of Winchester, Randolph conn- 
county, Indiana. Promoted Lieutenant Colonel, October 30th, 

George W. Branham, of Union City, Indiana. Promoted 
from First Lieutenant vice Browne promoted to L't Col. 

First Lieutenant, Francis M. Way, of Winchester, mustered 
October 10th. 1S63, vice Branham, promoted Captain. 

Second Lieutenant. Sylvester L. Lewis of Union City, Ran- 
dolph county, Indiana, mustered August 2Sth, 1863. 

ENLISTED MElf. 

First Sergeant, Charles A. Dresser, promoted Quartermas- 
ter of 130th Regiment of Indiana infantry. 

Quartermaster Sergeant, William C. Griffis. 

Commissary Sergeant, William A. Dynes. 

Sergeants, David S. Moist, Elisha B. West, William R. Schin- 
del, Edwin M. Lonsey. Cyrus B. Polly. 

Corporals, Jacob Hartman, Robert G. Hunt, John R. Per- 
kins, Samuel Coddington, Joseph L Coffin. Granbury B. Niekey, 
Zarhariah Packet, Joseph W. Ruby. 

Bugler, Joel McBrown. 

Farrrer and Blacksmith — John B. Lennington and George D. 
Hurt man. 

Saddler, Martin Lardner. 

W'joner, James Bright. 

Frivates. Jeiemiah D. Armstrong, John F. Arnold, George 
W. Allison, Edmond Anderson, Charles L. Brenham, Justice 
Brumel, Orin Barber, Benjamin L. Beaden, Hunter Berry, An- 
thony S. Cost, James K. Clear, Alpheus Congers, Edmond D. 
Cortes, Edward Calkins, Sanford Crist, Daniel Coats, John J. 
Dillon, Nelson H. Elliott, JEli Frazer, Isaac M. Gray, Edward 
E. Gray. George W. Gray, Nathan Garrett, Hamilton C. Gullet, 
Elias Helffiue, Alfred Hall, Edward D. Hunt, Andrew Huffman, 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 51 

Vinson Huston, Elijah Hazelton, John C. Henshaw, Mordica W. 
Harris, Samuel F. Jean, John F. Jones, Francis M. Johnson, 
Stephen Kennedy, John E. Keys, John Keesy, Hiram Lamb, 
Urias Lamb, Erastus Ludy, Thomas Little, Alexander Little, 
William Milles, John Murphy, John F. Matheny, Eranklin Mc 
Daniel, James W. Matox, Patrick McGettigan, George W. 
Monks, James Moore, John R. Manzy, Harrison C. Nicky, Hen- 
ry S. Peacock, Cass M. Peterson, Orvil R. Peterson, Leander 
Pugh, Ninnian Robinson, George W. Shreve, David H. Seamons, 
Clement Strahan, George W. Smith No. 1. George W. Smith No. 
2, Sampson Scott, John F. Shirly, William Stine, William Skin- 
ner, Benjamin Throp, Alva Tucker, Luther C. Williamson, 
Elijah T. Wood, Henry Worgum, John D. Williamson, Daniel 
Woodbury, John M. Woodbury, Christian H. Wright, Francis 
M. Way, D. McMahan. 

This company was mustered into the service August 28th, 
1863, at Indianapolis. Afterwards John B. Hughs, Lewis 
Reeves, Joseph Shaffer, Elisha B. Wood, joined the company as 
recruits. The members of this company were from Randolph 
county, Indiana. 

Company C. 

The members of this company were from Dearborn, Grant, 
Marion, and Ripley counties. They were mustered into the 
service September 2d, 1863, at Indianapolis. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, John W. Senior, of Aurora, Dearborn county. 
First Lieutenant, George R. Kennedy. 

Second Lieutenant, James W. Spence, died October 2d, 1863. 
Peter Piatt, promoted from First Sergeant vice Spence, de- 
ceased. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, Peter Piatt, promoted to Second Lieutenant. 

Sergeants, James W. Marshall, Benjamin E. Bleasdell, 

Philip Piercy, William C. Stark, James Kennedy, Francis M. 



52 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Hinds, and Robert Whitecer. 

Corporals, Nathaniel Miller, Jacob H. Garrigus, Marius Kelly, 
John Q. Overman, John H. Hustis, Landon F. Whithrow, Chester 
C. McCabe, and Harvey P. Richardson. 

Buglers, Joseph Lansing and Thomas J. Palmers. 

Farriers and Blacksmiths— Stephen Smith, Charles Wilson. 

Saddler, Mason Bradshaw. 

Wagoner, Ambrose Jones. 

Privates, Alkana Adamson, John M. Bradford, Alexander 
Bradburn, John P. Battaro, Silas E. Burr, Henry Borgman, 
Joshua Bratton, William Bates, Clark Cash, George Charman, 
George W. Conal, Ruben Cooper, Linman C. Clark, Isaac Cristy, 
Henry Carter, John S. Ducate, Franklin Baggy, John P. Ewing, 
George S. Enbanks, Oliver W. Frazee, Phillip Fisher, George 
W. Goth, John H. Gathman, Joseph G. Gould, Frederick Gard- 
ner, William Grant, Joshua Henderson, Seth S. Heaton, Louis 
Hall, Myron Harding, Edward Marsh, William Hiatt, Benja- 
min Hiatt, David Harding, Joseph Hull, Frederick J. Hurst, 
George W. Isabel, Charles Jones, James Johnson, Franklin 
Johnson, Otto Kratz, George W. Knapp, Thomas Lytle, Julias 
Lane, Joseph Laird, Albert Laird, Samuel Land, Jonas Mires, 
Jacob W. H. Mayers, Daniel B. Morgan, James Netnire, Henry 
Oppy, Jacob Orn, Levi Oliver, William H. Osborn, William Pat- 
terson, Samuel Pendergast, George W. Rush, John Rees, Joseph 
Ruble, Elijah Stevens, Jacob Shatter, John Shaffer, Joseph Stra- 
ley, Chester F. Smith, Christian Sohly, Eliphalet Stevens, Samu- 
uel Squibb, Ferdinand Santz, John Schumas, John Sparks, 
Frederick Trane, John Tullock, Frederick Tai'hon, Philander 
Underwood, George W. Woodward, Erastus, Wells, John Wil- 
son, Charles Wince. 

Recruits, William Colshear, Joshua M. Conn, Benjamin J. 
Harding, Ezekiel Hossley, David P. Row. 

Company D. 

Mustered into service September 3d, 1S63, at Indianapolis. 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 53 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, Henry F. Wright, of Aurora, Indiana. 
First Lieutenant, Abram Hill, of Aurora. Indiana. 
Second Lieutenant, Jacob C. Skirvin, of Sturgis, Michigan. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, John F. Dumont, of Marion county. 

Quartermaster Sergeant, Lewis F. Brougher. 

Commissary Sergeant, Joseph McCarthey. 

Sergeants, Albert E. Trister, George Patrick, John W. Desh- 
eil, John A. Talley, George W. Spicknall. 

Gorporals, John T. Lemon, Robert J. Ewbank, Francis V. 
Pearson, Andrew D. Brougher, Franklin P. Wagner, William 
H. Day, Joseph A. Erwin and John W. Lewis. 

Farriers end Blacksmiths, William Saddler, Dirlam Stilwell. 

JIusicians, James W. Graydon and Henry Bunger. 
Wagoner, Varnel D. Trulock. 

Saddler, Israel Warner. 

Privates, William Allerton, Amer Abden, Edward Ayers, 
James Agin, Francis Anderson, John Bruce, William Ball, 
Joseph F. Burns, Richard Bigelow, John Barber. Enoch Colon, 
George L. Canon, George Clark. Perry Cosairt, George W. Carr, 
James M. Disbro. Joseph Dingman, Jackson Dean, John Denble, 
Eli Dahuff, John E. Elmer, Joseph Eberle, John Earl, George 
W. Fegley, George Frederick, Anthony Frederick, Moses Fost- 
nancht, John Fitch, Cyrus J. Gilbert, Charles E. Green, Will- 
liam F. Green, Anthony Gucket, Richard Guthrie, Thomas S. 
Hunt, Henry H. Hughs, Henderson Huffman, Andrew H. Hess, 
Henry (Charles) Heiger, John Hall, Frederick Hoffman, Samuel 
D. Hoffman, George Hamlin, George Johnson, Nk'kolas John- 
son, Andrew A. Johnson, Josiah Jillison, George C. James. Hir- 
am J. Kail, Adam Lidge, Mathas Martin, Richard Mullis, 
Michael Mondary, John W. Mullen, Wesley Moore, Arthur Mc- 
Cueon, Samuel Mortortf, George L. Miller, Edward Norton, 
William Netf, Isaac Netf, Benjamin Russel, Samuel Roberts, An- 
drew Stevinson, Smith Sampson, John Salgers, George W. Swin- 



54 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALEY. 

dler, Owen Stevinson, Robert Scrogins, Marcus Slater, Jonathan 
Swisher, Robert H. Snowberger, Daniel G Shaffer, Thomas Star- 
key, Chester V. Tuttle, Theodore, F. Tuttle, Adam C. Wagner, 
Brazillian Woodworth, John Whipple. 

Recruits, James B. Gordon, William Loftus, James Nonnan, 
John Truelove, Harvey Williams. 

Company E. 
Mustered at Indianapolis, September 3d, 1863. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, David T. Skinner, of Jay county. 

First Lieutenant, Joel H. Elliott, of Centerville, Indiana. 
Promoted to Captain of company M, October 23d, 1863. James 
E. Sloan, promoted from Second Lieutenant, vice Joel H. Elliott, 
promoted. 

Second Lieutenant, Lee Roy Woods, of Centerville, Indiana, 
promoted from First Sergeant vice James E. Sloan, promoted. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, Lee Roy Woods. 

Quartermaster Sergeant, John W. Lee. 

Commissary Sergeant, Harris J. Abbott. 

Sergeants, William M. Skinner, John Rowlett, Barton B. 
Jenkins, Harrison Booth, and James Stansbury. 

Corporals, Henry Hawkins, William Underwood, Thomas J. 
Updike, Doniel Van Camp, George M. D. Frazee, Richard Dil- 
worth, George W. Ford, John K. Teters. 

Musicians John W. Legg, and Charles W. Coffin. 

Farriers and Blacksmiths, Willliam Vauskyhawk, Francis 
M. Johnson, and Thomas Montieth. 

Saddler, James Bo wen. 

Wagoner, Jeremiah W. Hunt. 

Privates, John Abadie, Philemon Abadie, John Adair, Wil- 
liam Adair, Sanford P. Aimes, Philip Austin, John W. Babb, 
Edward Baldwin, Anthony Brunnssi, Joseph Blackburn, Charles 
Bromfield, Henry Carter, August T. Cailliel, Charles Claverie, 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 55 

John G. W. Clevenger, Andrew Crews, Daniel B. Crow, Abijah 
Crow, Humphrey Davis, James Deal, Daniel W. Doner, John 
Dupuy, David T. Edwards, John H. Elliott, David Farris, 
Franklin Forrest, Obediah Gardner, Michael Gillegan, William 
Glendenning, Morgan L. Gray, Samuel J. Gray, Isaac A. Gor- 
man, Edward Green, Isaac Griffith, George Haley, George W. 
Hambleton, George W. Hilton, Frederick Hive, Richard D. 
Hoover, Jerome Hiatt, James Inks, James B. Jay (promoted 
assistant Surgeon), John E. Karch, William C. Kittsmiller, 
Emanuel Knepper, Joseph Knepper, Ely Lehr, Thomas Lahm- 
mon, John W. Lott, George W. Lutes, Gramaliel McLeod, Lem- 
uel McLeod, George Miller, Francis Moore, Benjamin F. Paxton, 
John Q,. Paxton, Jacob A. Poinier, Alfred Poindexter, Costan 
Porter, Hickason Ramsbottom, Jonathan Ray, John Roberts, 
John Schneider, Judson Skinner, James C. Snyder, William H. 
Smith, Paul Storms, Michael Solar, H. J. Van Benthuysen, 
Jacob Wallick, Enos Walker, John Ware, John Watts, John 
Watson, Aaron Whetsel, William Whetsel, Morris P. Wood. 

Joined subsequently to the muster of the company, as recruits: 
James G. Cloud, Thomas Mericle, Charles W. Ward, Joseph 
Watts. 

Company F. 

This company was mustered September 3d, 1863, at Indiana- 
polis. The men composing it were principally from LaPorte 
county. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, John W. Shoemaker, of LaPorte county. 

First Lieutenant, Joseph W. Skelton of Princeton, Gibson 
county, Indiana. 

Second Lieutenant, George W. Dunkerly, of Covington, 
Indiana. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, Thomas S. Cogley, of LaPorte. 



56 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Quartermaster Sergeant, James 0. Barnes. 
Commissary Sergeant, Rhynear S. Mandeville. 
Sergeants, Orlando Ballenger, William H. Ellsworth, Talcut 
Miller, William W. Frasier. 

Corporals, Andrew J. Woolf, Edward Kent, George Dudley, 
Ransel B. Cuttler, Adam H. Shoemaker, Jacob Cranse, William 
H. Crane, Francis J. M. Titus. 

Bugler, Daniel Devrew. 

Farrier, John Ritter. 

Saddler, William H. Parker. 

Wagoner, Fred Demzine. 

Privates, Thomas Able, Aaron Alyea, Fred Anthon, Joseph 
R. Aurand, John Best, Charles Bishop, William Barneby, Lewis 
Bright, Samuel Clark, Leon Carle, Lafayette Crane, Daniel 
Crites, William B. Crocker, Jacob Dilman, Thomas Duncan, 
Dudley C. Dugan, John Edwards, Franklin Erwin, Charles 
Fennimore, John Fugate, William A. Flynn, Oliver Frame, 
John Florharty, William A. Fink, Bennett Forrester, Joseph 
Gaw, Henry Gabler, William Gilespie. George Hammond, 
Greenbury Hall, William H. Hunter, Amasy Howell, Holbert 
Iseminger, Hiram Iseminger, Archibald F. Inglis, Harrison 
Jones, James M. Jackson, Henry Jessup, Herman Kile, Andrew 
Kerwan, John R. Kelley, John P. Knowlton, John B. Kisner, 
Alexander Kansas, William A. Kent, John J. Link, John Lem- 
on, Thomas A. Lantsford. Jared B. Mandeville, Jesse M. Meacham, 
David H. McNeece, Lorain J Moore, Peter Meredith, Edward 
D. Morden, John McCarty, James McCune, James McKinney, 
Andrew Myres, Bernard Mullingate, Oliver Newcomb, Chester 
G. Pierce, Horace Pierce, James M. Parker, Dennis J. Peer, Chas. E. 
Ruple.John L. Redding, Ashbury Ritter, Stephen Rice, Albert Ray, 
Alexander Schultz, San ford H. Steward, John Slagel, John 
Sims, David Sweigart, Edward Tracy, John P. Townsend, Al- 
pheus Thomas, Henry H. Vandusen, Johnson C. Vandusen, 
Landon Williams, William Whipple, George Wilson, Philander 
Wheeler. 



.SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 57 

Company G. 

Mustered September 5th, 1863, at Indianapolis. The mem- 
bers of this company were from Vigo, Delaware, Franklin, Ma- 
rion, Lake and Grant counties. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, Walter K. Scott, of Indianapolis. 

First Lieutenant, William A. Ryan, of Terre Haute. 

Second Lieutenant, Oscar Rankin, of Terre Haute. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, James H. Lowes. 

Sergeants, Andrew J. Thompson, John Hurley, Austin H. 
Piety, Isaac Sowerwine, James Dundon, Basil M. Warfieid, and 
John W. Hamilton. 

Corporals, John Jones, Charles E. Cottrill, James A. Pinson, 
James T. Vinnedge, John C. Shannon, Samuel H. Wells, Charles 
Wilson. William S. Corbin. 

Buglers, James McKanotn and Edward McBride. 

Farrier and Blacksmiths, Robert McCoy and William H. 
Oberdurf. 

Saddler, Patrick K el ley. 

Wagoner, Daniel C. Brenner. 

Privates, George W. Acker, Christopher C. Burny, Isaac 
Bndd, George W. Brandon, Alfred Gulbertson, Joseph Cartel-, 
William N. Cole, George Carmichael, George Grow, Milton Da- 
vis, Joseph B. Dickey, Alfred 0. D-witt, Leander Downing, 
William T. Downing, James P. Frazier, David Freeman, An 
drew Falkner, William H. Grow, William Grisham, Hiram 
Goad, William II. Gray, John C. Hanson (promoted 2d Lieuten 
ant of company A), Benjamin Hamilton, Daniel C. Hunneiord, 
James 11. Hunt, Joseph Isabel, Timothy K el ley, Joseph K. 
Lane, Henry E. Luther, Wesley B. Lambert, Andrew F. Lakin, 
Abraham JVtitcham, Henry H. Mnthert, John H. Matherly, 
JoLm Mentor, Joseph Massacre, Jacob Miller, Daniel 0. Mash, 
Isaac Needham, George W. Meedham, Abraham JNicely, Ad*m 
O 



03 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALHY. 

Xearon, James C. Powers, John Rankin, Andrew G. Richardson, 
John Rex, Leokalas Ryan, Jacob E. Shirley, Hezekiah Stout, 
William R. Shoemaker, Silas M. Shoemaker, San ford Shoemaker, 
William Sisk, Jasper Smock, John W. Sparks, Henry Stewart, 
John Smith, Reason Trueblood, Joseph J, Vanmeter, Francis M. 
Yinnedge, Christian M. Williams, William Welsh, Sanfoid 
Whitworth, Enoch M. Windsor, Joseph A. Young. 

Joined as recruits: John Clevenger, Henry Cory, Robert M. 
Dillman, Daniel G. Downing, Samuel Downing, Lewis F. Edger- 
ton, John Gay, Richard Highton, John Heck, George W. Ken- 
nedy, William Moore, William M. Moore, John Myres, Bluford 
Peake, Henry C. Richards, Charles daughter, John W. Lidwell, 
Isaac 11. Truitt, Jacob Warnuck. 

Company H. 
Mustered at Indianapolis, September 5th, 1863. The iu<*uj- 
b«rs of this company, were principally from Marion, Tippecanoe, 
and Lagrange counties. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.. 

Captain. John M. Moore, of Plymouth, Indiana. 

'First Lieutenant, John Q. Reed, ot Lagrange. 

Second Lieutenant, Edward Calkins, ol Winchester, Indiana. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergeant, Robert G. Smithers, of [ndianapolis. 

Sergeants, Henry L. Given, Michael Giles, John F. Morri«, 
John Kelley, L/ekiel Brown, Jame.s Green, Rollo Hall. 

Corporate, John A. King, Robert C. Redenbo, -lames B Me 
Kinney, Jacob Aylea, John Q,. Watson, William Wri.-k, tiu*L 
Hetierman, and William 11. Kline. 

Buglers, John CI eland and Dewitt C. Watson. 

Farrier and Blacksmith. Samuel Briley, Benjamin Beck. 

Saddler. Christian Winger. 

Wagoner. Charles McCann. 

Fi nates. William Armington, George Allen, James Andrew, 
Thomas Alford, Harrison Anderson, George F. Audrflws, Gideon 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY^ 59 

Avlea, James Banogan. Samuel Bryant, Albert Brown, Andrew 
Bates, William Barnett, Solomon Bolder, Reason Browning, 
Charles Burgner, Henry Ballabend, Morris Ourrin, Michael 
Cavanaugh, Charles Cavanaugh, .lames Chisam, William Carrell, 
Edward Carpenter, Barnard Detta, Mat hew Dwighman, Frank En- 
glehart, Michael Ferall, Charles Flvnn, Edward G. Gilson. -lohn 
Gleason, Noah Gilbert, John Herrellj Jeffrey Harrington, VVil- 
lard Johnson, Augustus Johnson, Ephriam Lattae, D.ennis Low- 
rey, Edward Lahoe, Arthur F. Lamson, Francis Mellvijle, 
James McCabe, Robert McQuillan, James Masked, Ambrose Mc- 
Kinney, .lames McGrain, Patrick Mitchell, Benjamin Mashone, 
•lames Maxyille, .lames McNaraara, Albert Morris, Abraham 
Oliver, John Paine, Thomas Robinson, -lames Rowe, Prancia 
Robinson, John Reinkins, Clark Spidle, Samuel F. Sams, M;ir- 
cus W. St-oner, Fred Stranee, William Smith, Ed Smith, Edward 
St. John, John Shaw, Max Schoen,John Traiy, Jackson Tabb, Pet- 
er Vevasa,Lemuel Waddle, William Yarbrough, Francis Waddle. 
Mustered September 26th, L 863,. as recruits: Lewis Bodel, 
David Beckett, John P. Baker, Sylvester Dunn, John J. Gard- 
ner, James Kitchen, John F. Myres, Henry Sherman, John 
Smith, and William Winfield. 

Company I. 

Date of muster, September 5th, 1863, at Indianapolis. Tim 
members of this company were principally from Kosciusko and 
Marion counties. 

COMMISSIONED OFFICEBS. 

Captain, James H. Carpenter, of Warsaw, Kosciusko county, 
Indiana. 
First. Lieutenant, Charles H. Har«, of Shelbyville, Indiana-. 
Second Lieutenant, Benjamin F. Bales. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First Sergea-nt, Elijah S. Blackford. 

Sergeants, William W. Keller, John M. Longfellow, Robert 
f.'ichart. (promoted captain }2th Indiana cavalry, October 



60 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

"1st, 1863), Thomas J. Howard, Horace W. King, Cornelius E 
Cart-wright, and George D. Sayler. 

Corporah, Neiaon H. Hunt. Lewis Gerrean. Alexandei Walk- 
er, George S. Jones, John B. Cole, Henry C. Clitfoi'd, Justice M 
Denton, John W. Barger. 

Buglers, John R. Harrel, Michap] C. Grey. 

Farrier and Blacksmith, Joseph C. McClary and Cyrus Ben- 
nett, 

Saddler, Allen J. Watson. 

Wagoner, William E. Hampton. 

Privates, Adoniram Allen, Robert B. Armstrong, John H 
Arnold, John L. Arnold, George W. Barger. William Babcock, 
William Barrack, John Cook, James Cherv, Enoch Crowl, Adon- 
iram Carr, Jacob Crevaston, Erasmus M.Chaplin, Delancy A 
Bockham, Martin L. Frank, Joseph Helton, Asbury * '. Garrard, 
Abraham Gasper, A/.ariah Griffin, Slavan Graham, John ML 
Hendrickson. Tunis Hendrickson, Lawrenc:e Howser, Joseph 
Helms, Henry Hight, Sylvester C. Hugle, John B Holmes, Burt 
< '. Hi lligoss, Solomon Hines, Josiah Jordan, John W. Jarrett, 
•Inhn X. Lynn, Benjamin Maze, Alfred Mitchell. John McMarth, 
William Morgan, John H. McMillan, Simon 11. Moore, James 
K. Mdler, Ephriam Maple, .1(11111 McCorkle, Robert McConahay, 
William MrGrath, Jesse Merical, Jphr, McCune, Richard J. No- 
lan, William Patterson, Taylor Parish, John W. Phillippe, No 
hi'' Ross, Lewis Robinson, Joseph R. Ringgold, Brantley Rayle, 
James Sullivan, Ambrosia Smith, George Swords, El isha Swords, 
Albert St. Johx, Charles Smith, Abraham Stainetts, Ruben A. 
Si.sk, John Tignor, Samuel Whitten, Jeremy Walker, Alviu 
Wiley, Janie^ II. Wasson, Nicholas Wilkins, David Whistler, 
Henry C. Willard, Calvin Warwick, Charles A. Younce. 

Joined as recruits, Michael Ash. Franklin Anthony, George 
T. Andrews, James E. Arnold, Henry 0. Blackford, Joel Bacon, 
Vinnedge R. Cox, George W. Davis, John Dixon. Albert Judd, 
Joseph Lossing. James McCarthy, William I". Morrison, Sylves- 
ter Michael, Abijah Sis more, ffeadlj Thomas, Jamo* Veach, 
Cj-jcjeon, Wjnu, 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 61 

Company K. 
Mastered Spptember llth, L863, at Indianapolis. The 
members of this company were principally from Marion ennui', 

commissioned officers, 

Capffi-in, William 8. Hubbard, of Indianapolis. 
First Dieufenant, Siegfried Sahm, of Indianapolis. 
Second. Lieutenant, Samuei M. Lake, of Indianapolis. 

E XL 1ST ED MEN. 

First Sergeant, Charles T. Noble, of-Terre limit p, "Indians 

Sergeants, John Lasch, Jerome B. Ketehara, Lafayette Burkett, 
John P. Longfellow, Dan ford Edwards, Nathan Boulden, and 
William H. Dangerfielcl. 

Corporals, William H. Eldridge, John B. Mellolt, Valentine 
Backer, Freeman Shepard, Julius Oppero, John II. Matchett, 
> lharles Sehott and John Reed. 

Privates, Weslev Alexander, William II. Baker, Augusti) 
Barrett, George M. Basoora, W 1 1 1 1 i-i. 1 1 1 Blowers, Elia-s Boughton, 
John W. Baler, John M. Cashman, John J. Collins, Micajah <'ox, 
Robert E. Cherry, Edwin Cary, William A. Chew, John Cogan, 
John V. Crail, .John M Cook" Alraon S. Carpenter, Calvin I'. 
Corbit, James R. Daugherty, Benjamin F. Drake, Francis M. 
Elkins. David Fisher, Frederick Fribes, John W. (laid, John 
W. Godbey. •lames Gray, Samuel Ganitt, William Gillan, Alex- 
ander Gillan, Wheeler Gould, Winfield G-unckle, James A. Hop- 
kins, Samuel Hull, Uriah G. Hatiey, William Hyatt, Marvin Hix, 
Calvin Harlin, Hetirv ('.Johnson, Charles Jacob, John Jennings, 
James Jones, George W. Kitt. George Krinkle, Christian Krah- 
mer, William II. Kennedy, John Kelley, James Lv\e, .lames H. 
Lewis, John Mo Kpnily, Thomas- McAvov, William H. Mann. 
Louis Monewitz, John MnDerraort, Jesse Matthew^, [saac Me 
Cabe, John MoAree, benjamin S. Myres, Richard E. Matchett, 
■ lohn Monlonv. James Oakey, Albert. I'aitie. John P. Parr, 
Mathew PaH'. Henry W. fool. John. Toe. Jame* M, Ricketfa, 
William §am.pso|l, William W, Scott, Andrew Echini. rr, ^ohrj 



fiCJ SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Shea, Joseph Schmidt, Charles Smith. William T) Tingle, John 
Turner, Oren Taylor, David Tomelson, Abraham \Vatkinjs. .lanie^ 
S. Wbiting.Henry C. Wills, Frank Williams, Joseph Wintzse.n, 
Leopold Woerner, Ellory P. Willitt, William Woodard, and Milo 
Wilkinson. 

Com tax y L. 

Mustered September 14th. 1863, at Indianapolis. The meui- 
bers oJ this company were all from Wabash county. 
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, Benjamin F. Daily, of Wabash, Indiana. 

First Lieutenant, Alpheus T. Blackman, of Liberty Mills 
W abash county, Indiana. 

Second Lieutenant, .James A. Fisher, ol Wabash, Indiana. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

S rgeants, Champion Helvey, Albert Kline, William Warn- 
pier, Samuel B. Henderson, Savanah Leonard, Rutherford .M. 
Beetley, Edwin Sheets. 

Corporals, James L. Ellis, Joseph S. Craig (promoted captain 
o\ company G, 130th regiment Indiana infantry), Richard Ring, 
Oscar J. Cox, Iremis Shortridge, Joseph L. Todd, James M. 
Reed, William L. Scol t. 

Buglers, Robert Helvey, and Joseph X. Tyler. 

Farrier. and Blacksmith, Benjamin F. Ryman, Humphrey 
Stahl. 

Saddler, Nathaniel Benjamin. 

Wagoner, .Milton M. Swihart. 

Privates, John Anson, George A. Armstrong, John Q Adams, 
David Anderson, Isaac Burk, John B. Blockson, George Bau 
<;\\( r, Samuel S. Barkelpy, Mannassph Buzzard, .lospph Clark, 
»'^l\in Cust-pr, Gilbwl M Depo, Charles Dors^y, Hpnry ppshnng, 
< rporge P. T. Douglass, Saranpl Deeter, John Ennis, William 
Egbert, William F. Filson, Calvin Gri ton, James Highland, Pe- 
t°r Hager, .John W House, Martin S. Hubbard, Lysander S 
[pgram, Amos A. K.elli , Ruben F! Krebs, Albnrl T. Lowrey, 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 0" 

William L. Logan, William A. Lockhart, James Leason, Charles 
Lyons, John Lawson, Daniel Miller, Alexander McCutcheon, 
Robert Miller, Simon H. Malotte, Peter S. Murphey, Mathew 
Munjoy, Vance MeManigal, Oliver H. P. Meek, John H. Max- 
ville, David McDaniel, James Meniere, Myer Newberge, James 
Oliver, Joseph Phipps, Sirenius Porter, William S. Prichelt, 
Henry C. Pruitt, Hiram F. Price, Isaac S. Peterson, Daniel 
Kofther (promoted hospital steward), Jeremiah Reed, George 
W. .Stover, .lames Smith, Franklin Sowers, James S. Tilberry, 
Joseph Thrush, James W. Thompson, Elias S. Totten, John 
Tuttle, Louis S. Todd, James Walton, William Wilson, Henry 
K. Zook. 

Joined as recruits, John Core, John Dubois, Milton K. Flem- 
ing, William Headley, Elbridge S. Hilligoss, Daniel Kitson, 
.Jeremiah Marry, John Osboru, Morris E. Place, ( leorge SV 
Bead, Davi<l Wallers and Benjamin White. 
Company M. 

Mustered September 19th, 1863, at Indianapolis. The mem- 
ben ol this company were principally from Madison county 

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

Captain, Joel II. Elliott, of Centerville, Indiana. 
Fir.il Ijirmtrmmf, John G. Mayer, of Indianapolis. 
Second Lieutenant, Benjamin 0. Deming, of Lafayette. 

ENLISTED MEN. 

First. Sergeant, Charles P. Hopkins. 

Sergeants, John W. Denny- John N. Gilbert, Abraham Wil 
sou. Thomas VV. Gibson, James McNaughten, James Woodard, 
and James 11. Jack man. 

Corporate, Thomas C. Poyns, George A. Cotton, Daniel 
Grebe, Willard 0. Story, Elias Green, Rollin W. Drake, George 
Howard, and George Ltttz. 

Buglers, Rue! C. Freeman, and David Falkner, 

Farriers and Blacksmiths, Jordon Markle, Edward R Pry 
JQOld*. 



64 ' SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Saddler % Bobert TT. Ferrv. 
Wagoner, James McFaddeni 

Privates, Moses Alti/er, George Autle, Frank Akerman, 
Frank .1. Ball, -James Buchannau, Philo E. Brittingham, Henry 
Brown, George Oonover, Charles Conover, George D. Craig, John 
Clutter, Theodore P. Cotton, Jeptha Downs. Jo^e| >h Dev-ersey, 
-lohn H. Davis, Samuel Dohoney, Harmon Dixon, James A. Dix- 
on, William Day, Chiarles Fred, John R. Garrott, James B. Glass- 
cock, George Hinds, Thomas Heath, Cyrus "Hall, James M. 
Hand, Theodore F. H. Hinton, Richard Hayes, Samuel W. Hos- 
tetter, John H. Jones, Henry A. Johnston. James \V. Keith, 
William Kelly, Joseph Linnenweber, George Linnenweber, Sam- 
uel Lanham, John S. Lash, William H. Lee, Asbury Lunger, 
Joseph Martin, Thomas McVey, Adam McKand, Benjamin 
Mathews, Charles Middleton, Nathan McDonald, Eli Mover, 
Richard Noleu, Philip F. Osborne, Robert R. Patton, Oliver N. 
Ratts, Calvin R. Royce, John H. Stalks, Zachariah T. San- 
ders, Charles Smith, Squire A. Story, Truman Selee, William 
F. Thompson, Henry C. Thomas, Benjamin F Temple, Wiseman 
Vest, Joseph Walker, George W. Wood, George Whitham. Wil- 
liam Ware, Daniel B. Williams, Huey Washam, Edmond West, 
James T. Wiue, and Christian M. Warring. 

The interval from the muster in of the companies to the -Itli 
or 5th ot December, 1863. was busily employed in learning the 
cavalry drill, in which the regiment acquired great proficiency 

Its firs! appearance on parade, mounted, was ludicrous in the 
extreme. The Governor had not appointed the Majors of the 
regiment. As usual, there were several applicants for those 
positions. Governor Morton resolved to review the regimen I 
ami form, from personal observation, bis opinion of the fitness of 
some of the captains for promotion. Accordingly, he notified 
<'<J Shanks, that he would, on tt certain day. review ihe regi- 
ment. The Colonel Was naturally ambitious I hat hi men 
should present at tine an appearance as possible. He therefore 

issued ordere fol the regiment to Appear mounted, on the nelJ 
lor review. 



FIRST CHAXD REVIEW . P>5 

The horses, having been but recently drawn, had never been 
exercised in drill. Some of them had never been backed. 

The captains, some time before the hour for review, formed 
their "companies on the company parade grounds to see how it 
would go. The men were as green as the horses. Some of 
them never having been on a horse's back, did not know how to 
mount. Those who had wild steeds, had great difficulty in 
maintaining their positions in the saddle, and some in attempt- 
ing to mount, suddenly found themselves on the ground. How- 
ever, after great effort, the horses were sufficiently quited, so as 
to stand in reasonable proximity to each other. The hour hav- 
ing arrived for the review, the 1 companies were marched to the 
regimental parade ground, and the regiment, after long and pa- 
tient effort, formed in a reasonable straight line. 

Governor Morton and his Staff', accompanied by Coloiiel 
Shanks, took their positions in front of the regiment. 

Colonel Shanks in genuine military style, gave the command, 
" Draw sabres." The men obeyed the order. The sabres in be- 
ing drawn made a great rattling and clatter, and waved over 
the horses heads, the sound and sight of which greatly frighten- 
ed them. This was more than they could bear. Some of them 
reared and plunged, depositing their riders on the ground; some 
wheeled and dashed madly for the company quarters; others 
darted over the commons, their riders hatless, holding on with 
both hands to the horses' manes, or the pommelsof their saddles. 
presenting pictures not in keeping with accomplished equestri- 
anism, in a twinkling the entire regiment was dispersed over the 
surrounding country. The Governor maintained his gravity, 
hut it must have cost him an effort to have dune so. So ended 
the first grand review of the regiment. 

But drill accomplishes wonders, and the mounted parades of 
the regiment, before it left Indianapolis, was worth seeiny. 



Chapter II. 

Seventh Indiana leaves Indianapolis for Columbus, K'y-Repo: tsto 
Col. Waring at Union City and assigned to the 1st Brigade oft he 
6th Division of the IGth Army Corps — Expedition to Dresden. 
Tenn. — Rebels escape in the night — Return to Union City — 
Expedition to Jackson. Tenn., and escape of Forrest — Return 
to Union City, terrible i\ T civ Year, men and horses frozen — 
Cavalry marches for Colliersville — Capt. Shoemaker sent to 
ort bearer of dispatches to Memphis — Encounters Rebels at 
Grand Junction, and captures five prisoners — Lieut. Shclton 
attacks and diivcs a body of Rebels through Lagrange, and 
pursues them four miles, and captures twenty prisoners — 
Qri h ■ ■ blliersville. 

The 7th Indiana Cavalry letl Indianapolis, on the Gth of De- 
cember, 1863, by railroad, for Cario, Illinois. At that place it 
irked on steamboats and steamed down the Mississippi to 
Columbus, Kentucky, where it disembarked, and reported to 
General A. J. Smith, and, by his order, camped for the] night 
near the fortifications of the town. By way of introduction to 
military life, the rain fell in torrents during the night, extin- 
!ied all the camp-fires, and the country being flat, complete- 
ly deluged it with water. In the morning the men were corn- 
ed, and presented a disconsolate appearance. 
Aii<r vt ai Columbus one day, by order of Gen. 

Smith, the regiment started to report to Col. George E. Waring, 
Jr., at Union City, Tenn., where it arrived a! the end of a march 
oftwodays. [I was tlv tied to the Firsl Brigade of tin- 

sixth Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps. The Brigade was 
iu:d"d by Col. George E. Waring, •';•.. of the l;h Missouri 
Cavalry, and was i I of the following regiments of cavalry: 

irth Missouri, Col. George E. Waring, Jr. 
•nd New Jersey, Col. Joseph Karge. 
'' venth Indiana. Col. John 1'. C. Shank-. 



EXPEDITION TO JACKSON, TENS'. ^7 

Six4li Tennessee, Col. Hurst. 

Nineteenth Pennsylvania, Col. Hess. 

Second Iowa, four companies, Maj. Frank Moore, arid Cap- 
tain Copperfair's Battery. 

Maj. Beck was sent with a detachments of the Tth Indiana. 
from Union City, to disperse a body of rebels at Dresden, Tenn. 
On arriving there the Major discovered that the enemy was too 
strong for him to attack, and reported the fact to the rorinv nt. 

Lt. Col. Browne, with one hundred nun from the 7ih lud 

went to his assistance, and met the Major slowly retiring. But 
the force was still too weak to safely risk an attack, and Col. 
Browne sent such a report to headquarters, when Col. Shanks 
took the balance of the regiment, overtook the other two de-. 
tachments, and with the entire regiment marched to Dresden, 
arriving there at night. Under cover of the darkness, and the 
heavy rain that fell all night, the rebels stole away. In the 
morning, finding that the game had flown, Col. Shanks marched 
the regiment back to Union City. 

On the morning of December 23d, 1SG-3, Gen. A. J. Smith 
with his entire command, began his march on Jackson, Tenn., 
sixty miles from Union City. His object was to drive out the 
rebel, General N. B. Forrest, who was encaged in conscripting 
and gathering forage for the rebel army. On the approach of 
Gen. Smith, Forrest retreated. 

Gen. Smith remained at Jackson, till the 1st of January, 1804. 
Christmas was a pleasant day, and so warm, the men could sit 
in their tents with their coats off. On New Years day Gen. 
Smith was on his return to Union City. In the forenoon the 
weather was pleasant, but early in the afternoon, it began rain- 
ing, and rapidly grew intensely cold, the rain was changed I > n 
terrible sleet. The cold increased in intensity, and the men, to 
keep from freezing, were obliged to walk most of the time, 
Notwithstanding their precautions,!] of some of them 

were so batMy frozen that im'putat ion "'-"- • thf 

effects of which some of tin I. A.mon? these 



Go SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Tucker of Company B, and Joseph Gawol Company F, of the 7th 
Indiana. Even some oi the horses perished of the cold, and fell 
dead in the road. 

On the return of Gen. Smith to Union City, Lieut. Col. Browne 
;va- sent to Hickman, Kentucky, to take command of a detach- 
ment of three hundred and fifty men of the Tth Indiana cavalry, 
that had been left there. 

About the Tth of January, 1SG4, the cavalry under Gen. 
Grierson, excepting the detachment under Lt. Col. Browne, 
started on the march through West Tennessee, to join the caval- 
ry force organizing at. Colliersville, under Gen. Sooy Smith, for 
an expedition into Mississippi, in aid of the movement of Gen. 
W. T. Sherman from Vicksburg to Meridian. 

This march was a hard one, particularly on the horses. In 
crossing the swamps ol the Obinc fiver, they were constantly 
breaking through the ice, and floundering in the ice, mud and 
water. 

At Deliver Teun. Col. Waring ordered Capt. John W. Shoemaker 
to take Company F, of the Tth Indiana, and escort his aid-de- 
camp, bearing dispatches, to Memphis. At Grand Junction, the 
i - ort run into a large body of lebels, and captured live prison- 
ers. Lt. Sk el ton with two men by Capt. Shoemaker's order, re- 
turned to BoUver for reinforcements. Lt. Skirvin with Compa- 
ny D, of the Tth Indiana., returned with Lt. Skelton. By the 
time the reinforcement arrived, the rebels had withdrawn in the 
ition of Lagrange," Tcnw At that place, Lt. Skelton, 

having command/>f th< n Ivan egu ird, charged them, and drove 
them through the town, and captured nineteen prisoners. He 
pursued them four miles south of Lagrange, and in the chase 
raptured one or two more prisoners and several horses and 
es, abandoned by the rebels in escaping to the woods to 
avoid rapture. There were three or four hundred of the rebel.-. 
vvl o must have ^taken the e3cort to be the advance guard of 
■ n's force, and hence allowed themselves to be driven by 
inferior numbers. While' Lt. Skelton was pursuing the rebele 
south of Lagrange Capt ' icecaaker, ^ ;ln the Aid and part of 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 60 

(he escort 7 , marched rapidly north to Summerville, and from 
thence through Raliegh to Memphis, and thus got separated 
from Lt. Skelton, who followed up, and safely delivered hi* 
prisoners at Memphis. 

General Grierson, with the Division, arrived at Colliersville, 
twenty-five miles from Memphis, early in February. 

Col. Browne, with his detachment, on the 8th of February, 
embarked on a steamboat, for Memphis, where he arrived on the 
9th. On the evening of the 10th, after a march of twenty-five 
miles, he joined the regiment and brigade, at Colliersville. 



Chapter III. 

MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 

The campaign, as shetcJtcdby Gen's Grant and Sherman — Gen. 
Sooy Smith to cooperate with Gen. Sherman, by destroying For- 
rest's cavalry — 2d andod brigades march from, Germantown to 
jVeio Albany — The First from Collie rsvi lie to Moscow, thence to 
Ncv) Albany via Tfolly Springs — Skirmish beyond Solly 
springs — Concentration of Smith's army, ''pomp and glorious 
circumstance of war" — Preparations for battle; rebels retire — 
Jicdland burned, the whole country in a blaze — J Fecal of col- 
amnio the left — Shirmish beyond Okolona — 2d brigade goes to 
Aberdeen — Egypt station burned — Fight at West Point, rebek 
retire across the river, and bum the bridge — Bivouac on the bat 
tie field — Smith retreats, heavy fighting in the rear — Stampede 
of the 3d brigade at Okolona, on tlie morning of Feb.22d 
Desperate lighting of tlie 7th Indiana, malces a brilliant sabre 
charge at Ivy farm, and. saves tin arum from capture — Return 
to Memphis — Official report of the expedition. 

This campaign was one of tlie many planned by t hose master 
Generals of the age, U. S. Grant and W.T.Sherman. Its ob- 
ject was to give greater ell'ect to the grand strategic conception 
of the war — the possession by the Govern men, of the Mississippi 
river from its source to its mouth. The importance of that riv- 
er to the national arms, was seen in the early stages of the war, 
and for its capture, the movements and battles of the Union 
armies in the West, were mainly directed. Once in the posses- 
sion of the Government, and constantly patroled by gunboats. 
not only would the rebel armies east and west of the river be sep- 
arated from each other,butalso the pretended Southern Confeder- 
acy cut in twain. General Grant, in this brilliant campaign, 
unsurpassed in the annals of war, placed his army in the rear of 
Vicksburg, and in a series of rapid and brilliant victories, sepa 
rated the two Confederate armies, one under Johnson, and the 
under Pemberton, and compelled I he fon er I reti 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 71 

to the interior, and the latter to seek safety in the fortifications 
of Vicksburg. That place he invested on the ISth of May, 1863, 
and closely beseiged till the 4th of July of the same year, when 
Pemberton and his entire army unconditionally surrendered. 
With the capture of that stronghold, and the surrender to Gen. 
Banks, four days later, of Port Hudson, the great Mississippi 
became once more the thoroughfare of the nation. 

Notwithstanding the large force distributed at the various 
garrisons, employed in guarding it, yet the navigation of the 
river was interrupted, and rendered dangerous, by the sudden 
and frequent attacks on the weak garrisons, by the rebel Gener- 
al X. B. Forrest, a daring and accomplished cavalry officer. So 
frequent and annoying were his dashes, that Generals Grant and 
Sherman resolved to put a stop to his depredations, by the com- 
plete destruction of his command. The time selected for the ac- 
complishment of this purpose was, when the military operations 
about Chattanooga and Knowille were suspended by the severi- 
ty of the winter of 1804. Tin' destruction of Forrest's cavalry 
was not the only purpose of the campaign. It was the prelim- 
inary step in the operations that resulted in the capture of At- 
lanta. 

That the purposes of the campaign may be fully understood, 
the following extracts, from the correspondence of the projectors 

of if, are given. 

On December J lth, 18G3, in writing to Gen. McPherson. Gen. 
Grant says, " I will start a cavalry force through Mississippi in 
about, two weeks, to clean out the State entirely of all rebels." 

On December 23d, he writes to Gen. lialleck, "I am now col- 
lecting as large a cavalry force as can bo spared, at Savannah, 
Tenn., to croes the Tennessee river, and cooperate with' the cav- 
alry from Hurlbut's command, in cleaning out entirely the f r- 
ces now collecting in West Tennessee, under Forrest. It is the 
design, that the cavalry, after finishing the work they first start 
upon, shall push south, through East Mississippi, and destroy 
the Mobile road, as far south as they can. Sherman goes in 
Memphis and Vicksburg in person, and will have Gren- 



72 SEVENTH INDIANA cavaLhY. 

eda visited, and such other points on the Mississippi Cen- 
tral railroad as may require it. I want the State of Mississippi 
so visited that large armie: cannot traver:e there this winter." 
| Badeau's history of Grant, Vol. 1, pp. 552, 553.] 

January 15th, 1864, he again writes to Hal leek, "Sberman 
lias gone down the Mississippi, to collect at Vicksburg, all the 
force that can be spared for a separate movement from the Mis- 
sissippi. He will probably have ready, by the 24th of this 
month, a force of twenty thousand men. * 1 

shall direct Sherman therefore, to move out to Meridian, with 
his spare force, the cavalry going from Corinth; and destroy the 
roads east and south of there so effectually, that the enemy will 
not attempt to rebuild them during the rebellion. lie will thru 
return unless opportunity of going into Mobile with the force 
lie has appears perfectly plain. Owing to the large number ut' 
veterans furloughed, I will not be able to do more at Chatta- 
nooga than to threaten an advance, and try to detain the force 
now in Thomas' front. Sherman will be instructed, whilst left 
with these large discretionary powers, to take no extra ha/:t rd 
of loosing his army, or geting it crippled too much for efficient 
service in the Spring. * :;: * 

The destruction Sherman will do to the roads around Meri- 
dian will be of material importance to us, in preventing the 
enemy from drawing supplies from Mississippi, and in clearing 
that section of all large bodies of rebel troops. 
1 do not look upon any points, except Mobile in the .-.nth an 1 
the Tennessee river in the north, as presenting practicable start- 
ing points horn which to operate against Atlanta and Montgo 
mery." 

Sherman, in Chapter 14, vol. 1, of his mem jus, says: "The 
winter of 18.03 4 opened very cold and severe; and it was m mi- 
test after the battle of Chattanooga, Xovember 25th, 1863, and 
the raising of the seige ofKnoxville, December 5th, that military 
operations in that quarter must, in a measure, cease, or be limit- 
ed to Burnside's force beyond Knoxville. On the 21st of De- 
cember, General Grant had removed bis headquarters to Nash- 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 73 

ville, Tennessee, leaving Gen. George H, Thomas at Chattanoo- 
ga, in command of the Department of the .Cumberland, and of 
the army round about that place; and I was at Bridgeport, with 
orders to distribute my troops along the railroad from Stephen- 
son to Decatur, Alabama, and from Decatur up towards Nash- 
ville. 

Gen. G. M. Dodge, who was in command of the detachment of 
the Sixteenth Corps, numbering about eight thousand men, had 
not participated with us in the battle of Chattanooga, but had 
remained at and near Pulaski, TVnn., engaged in repairing that 
railroad, as auxiliary to the main line which lead from Nashville 
to Stephenson and Chattanooga. Gen. John A. Logan had suc- 
ceeded to the command of the Fifteenth Corps, by regular ap- 
pointment of the President of the United States, and had reliev- 
ed Gen. Frank P. Blair, who had been temporarily in command 
of that Corps during the Chattanooga and Knoxviile movement. 

At that time I was in command of the Department of the 
Tennessee, which embraced substantially the territory on the 
east bank of the Mississippi river, from Natchez up to the Ohio 
river, and thence along the Tennessee river as high as Decatur 
and Belltonte, Alabama. Gen. MePherson was at Vicksburg 
and Gen. Hurl but. at Memphis, and from them I had regular re- 
ports of affairs in that quarter of my command. The rebels still 
maintained a considerable force of infantry and cavalry in the 
State of Mississippi, threatening the river, whose navigation had 
become to us so delicate and important a matter. Satisfied that 
I could check this by one or two quick moves inland, and there- 
by set free a considerable bod// of men held a# local garrisons, I 
went up to Nashville and represented the case to Gen. Grant, 
who consented that I might go down the Mississippi river, where 
the bulk of my command lay, and strike a blow on the east of 
the river, while Gen. Banks, from New Orleans, should in a like 
manner strike another to the west; thus preventing any further 
molestation of the boats navigating the main river, and thereby 
widening the gap in the Southern Confederacy. * * * 
****** 

7 



74 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRlf. 

About the 10th of January we reached Memphis, where I 
found Gen. Hurlbut, and explained to him my purpose to collect 
from his garrisons and those of McPherson, about twenty thou- 
sand men, with which in February to march out from Vicks- 
burg as far as Meridian, break up the Mobile and Ohio railroad, 
and also the one leading from Vicksbnrg to Selma, Alabama. 
I instructed him to select two good divisions and be ready with 
them to go along. At Memphis I found Brigadier Gen. \V. 
Sooy Smith, with a force of about twenty-live hundred cavalry, 
which he, by Gen. Grant's orders, brought across from Middle 
Tennessee, to assist in our general purpose, as well as to punish 
the rebel General Forrest, who had been most active in harrass- 
ing our garrisons in West Tennessee and Mississippi. * 
* * * # * 

A chief part of the enterprise was to destroy the rebel cavalry 
co mmanded by General Forrest, who were a constant threat to 
our railway communications in Middle Tennessee, and I com- 
mitted this task to Brigadier General W. Suuy Smith. Gen. 
Hurlbut had in his command about seven thousand tive hun- 
dred cavalry, scattered from Columbus, Kentucky, to Corinth, 
Mississippi; and we proposed to mike up an aggregate cavalry 
force of about seven thousand 'effective,' out of these and the 
twenty-five hundred which Gen. Smith had brought with him 
from Middle Tennessee. With this force Gen. .Smith was order- 
ed to move from Memphis straight for Meridian. Mississippi, 
ami to start by February 1st. I explained to him personally the 
nature of Forrest as a man, and of his peculiar force; told him 
that in his route he was sure to encounter Forrest, who always 
attacked with a vehemence for which he must be prepared, and 
that alter he had repelled the first attack, he 'must m turn as- 
same the must determined offensive, overwhelm him, and utterly 
destroy fas whole force. I knew that Forrest could not have 
wore than fuur thousand cavalry, and my utvn movement would 
yive employment to every other man uj the rebel U/ my, not immc- 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. Vo 

dialrhf present with him, so that he (Gen. Smith) might safely 

act on the hypothesis I have stated. 
********* * * 

On the 1st of February we rendezvoused in Vicksburg, whera 
I found a spy who had been sent out two weeks- before, had 
been to Meridian, and brought back correct information of the 
state of facts in the interior of Mississippi. Lieut. General 
(Bishop) Polk was in chief command, with headquarters at Mer- 
idian, and had two divisions of infantry, one of which i GeutMiil 
Loring's) was posted at Canton, Mississippi; the other (General 
French's) at Brandon. He had also two divisions of cavalry — 
Armstrong's, composed of the three brigades of Ross, Stark and 
Wirt Adams, which were scattered from the neighborhood of 
Yazoo City to Jackson and below; and Forrest's which was 
united towards Memphis, with headquarters at Como. General 
Polk seemed to have no suspicion of our intentions to disturb 
his serenity." Now the reader has a correct idea of the Meri- 
dian campaign as mapped out by General Sherman. It is 
shown that the cavalry under Sooy Smith, was designed to play 
an important part, in one of the most skillfully planned cam- 
paigns of the war. 

General Smith did not start with his command until the time 
he was to have formed a junction with Sherman at Meridian. 
II is force consisted of three brigades of calvary, and sixteen 
pieces of cannon, and numbered fully seven thousand men. 

On the 9th of February, Gen. Smith with the 2d and 3d 
brigades left Germantown on the Memphis and Charleston rail- 
mud, and marched to New Albany on the Tallahatchie river, 
where he waited for the arrival of the first brigade. 

On the morning of the 11th of February, the first brigade, to 
which the ?th Indiana was attached, broke camp at Colli.er.svill.8 
and moved east along the Memphis and Charleston railroad, to 
Moscow, a small town eighteen miles distant. 

On the 12th, it left the railroad, and marching south, arrived 
at midnight at Hudson ville, the ruin,-; nf which marked the trail 



"73 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY, 

of hostile armies."" ,, "Aftpr a rest of i wo 'hour?, if proceeded 6n . 
the Imp of march, and at 'lawn arrived at what was, before the 
hot breath of war swept over it, the beautiful town of Holly 
Springs. That place presented a strange appearance of desola- 
tion. The echoing tread of the horses' hoots, and the clank of 
the sabres, produced a weird effect, as the column rode in silence 
through the streets. 

Just beyond the town, the advance guard met some resistance 
from a company of rebel cavalry, and in the skirmish that en- 
sued, the 2nd Tennessee lost three men killed, but it inflicted 
pqual sanguinary punishment on the rebels, and captured nine 
prisoners with their horses and equipments. The brigade pro- 
ceeded without further interruption, to Walker's Mills, eight 
miles from Holly Springs, and camped. Foraging parties were 
sent out to get subsistence for the men and horses. While on 
this duty, a member of the 2d New Jersey regiment was killed 
at a farm house. The perpetrator of the deed, was, by way of re- 
taliation, shot, and his house burned to the ground. 

The brigade remained in camp on the 14th. The monotony 
of the rain that fell all day, was relieved by an almost constant 
tire on the picket lines. 

Early on the morning of the 15th. the command was in mo- 
-ion, and proceeded to the Tippah river, arriving there about 
nine o'clock in the morning. The recent heavy rains had ren- 
dered it unfordable. The only means of crossing was on an 
old horse ferry. To have crossed on it. would have consumed 
too much time. A bridge was. therefore, constructed under the 
supervision of Col. Shanks, over which the entire command pa-s- 
od in safety. 

At six o'clock on the morning oi the 16th the march was con- 
tinued. The Tallahatchie river was crossed at X "\\ Albany. 
Four miles from this phro, tin' brigade went into camp on the 
plantation of a rebel by the name of Sloan. He had been a 
member of the secession convention ol Mississippi, that had re- 
solved the State out of the Union. Whi marched 



PREPARATIONS TOR BATTLE, < i 

flip npxt morning, he was a poorer man by many thousand Hol- 
la rs, by cotton and fence-rails burned, and meat, meal and corn 
eaten and taken away. 

At three o'clock on the morning of the 17th, the brigade was 
mounted and on the inarch.. On this day Smith's army was con- 
centrated. The 1st brigade was commanded by Col. George E. 
Waring, Jr , of the 4th Missouri ; the 2d by Col. Hepburn, and 
the 3d by Col. McOrillis. Seven thousand mounted men make 
a great show. The day was clear, and the suu shone brightly. 
Thp long line as it filed out on its march, With its nodding guid- 
ons and waving banners, as it wound along thp road, the proud 
step of the steeds champing their bits, and the gleam of thp 
brightly polished arms, presented a spectacle grand and splen- 
did in the highest degree. In the afternoon the advance had a 
Blight skirmish, with this exception nothing of particular in- 
terest occurred through the day. The army passed through 
Pontotoc towards Houston, and alter a march of thirty miles 
wei;t into camp. 

General Smith expecting an attack from the rear, ordered the 
7th Indiana to go back three miles on the road it had traveled, 
and picket and hold the crossing at a swamp. Though the men 
were so fatigued they could scarcely sit in their saddles, yet the 
regiment remounted, and went to the point designated, and 
stood by their arms, patiently awaiting the anticipated attack. 
Night, however, wore away without any hostile demonstrations 
being made. 

The march was continued on the 18th toward Houston. 
Throughout the day everything indicated the presence of the 
enemy in force. An engagement was expected at any mement. 
Everything was got in readiness for sanguinary work. Ambu- 
lances were cleared for the reception of the wounded; the sur- 
geons placed their knives, bandages and lint, where they could 
be conveniently reached; the officers gave their commands in a 
sterner tone of voice, while their faces wore a solemn and anx- 
ious look. But the men, what of them? A soldier is a sfcrang€ 



78 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

being. He trusts every tiling to his officers, and borrows no 
trouble about parsing events. He views the preparations for 
battle with apparent indifference, cracks his jokes, and belches 
out his hearty laugh, as if danger was not near. 

The enemy, evidently, were not yet ready for battle, for he 
steadily fell bad< before the advance of the federal army. 

Redland. a small town ten miles from Pontotoc, lay in the 
path of this dav's march, and was given over to the torch. When 
Smith's army left it, it was a heap of smouldering ruins. In 
every direction, except the immediate front, as far as the eye 
could see, smoke and dames shot up from burning mills, cotton- 
gins, and cprn-oiibs. 

The work of desolation, designed for this army to accomplish, 
as foreshadowed in General Grant's correspondence with Gen. 
Ha Heck, had commenced. When within about thirteen miles 
of Houston, the head of the column was directed towards Okolo- 
na, while a small force proceeded towards Houston, to engage 
the attention of the rebels behind the Hulka swamp. The army 
passed at nightfall through Okolona, and went into camp two 
miles south of it on the edge of a large and fertile prairie. Here 
the advance guard had a heavy shirmish in which the enemy 
were discomfited. 

Early on the morning of the 10th, the 2d battalion of the 7th 
Indiana, under the command of Maj. Sjmonson, was sent hack 
to Okalona, with orders to burn the depot, and warehouses, and 
to destroy the railroad for several miles to the north of the town 
and to rejoin the command in the evening. It returned, having 
faithfully performed its mission. 

FrQOQ Okolona, the army moved in two columns. The 2d 
brigade going to Aberdeen, the 1st and 3d south on the Mobile 
and Ohio nail road. Lieut. Col. Burg with the 19th niinois, da sh 
ed into Aberdeen so unexpectly, that several Confederate soldiers 
fell into his hands. 

The 1st and 3d brigades matched along the railroad to Egypt 
Ptation, a ?ma'l y.illaee, ft [a Bituated in one of the most | 



THE COUNTRY IN A BLAZE. i'J 

fcifirl and fertile prairies in the world, that produced wonderful 
crops of corn and cotton. The former were mainly relied on to 
subsist the Confederate armies in the south-west. At this place 
vast cribs of corn, belonging to the Confederate government 
stood by the roadside. The warehouses were filled with meal, 
tobacco, guns, and baggage for the Confederate army, awaiting 
shipment. The railroad was destioyed, and the torch applied 
to the depot, ware-houses, and corn-cribs, and entirely consum- 
ed by fire. When the army left it, only two dwelling houses re- 
mained to mark the spot where "Egypt" had been. From this 
place the 1st brigade marched towards Aberdeen, but it had not 
gone far when it was overtaken with an order to countermarch, 
and go to the assistance of the 3d brigade, which was reported 
to be engaged with the enemy. The order was promptly obey- 
ed, and after a march of a few miles, came up to the 3d brigade 
drawn up in line of battle. Without stopping, the 1st brigade 
tiled past and went to the front, when the bugles sounded the 
"i iot "and off the brigade went on the hard, smooth road. 
After a ride of an hour the brigade halted and formed in a woud, 
without having met the enemy. Two companies of the 7th In- 
diana were sent out to burn corn-cribs on the left of the road. 
It was now night, and as the command rode along, the sky was 
reddened in every direction, by the flames that shot up from 
corn-cribs and cotton-gins. At ten o'clock at night the army 
went into c;unp :it Prairie Station. The brigade that went by way 
of Aberdeen had reached this place, and Smith's army was again 
concentrated. It was now ascertained that Forrest was con- 
centrating his army at West Point, a small town on the Mobile 
and Ohio railroad, thirteen miles distant. 

Early on the morning of the 20th; the entire army was on the 
march toward the enemy, moving slowly and cautiously to avoid 
falling into ambuscades. 

Smali bodies of rebels Were constantly in sight, hovering on 
the Hanks and in the front. The ail Vance guard was continually 
tiring and charging, to clear the road of the enemy. Near 



SO SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALEY. 

West Point, (he advance guard met with considerable resistance, 

the account of which and the balance of this day's operations, 
is given in < 'olonel Browne's own language. He says: "Arriv- 
ing within a mile of West Point, quite a force, brobably a bat- 
talion, was drawn up in line to oppose our advance. Quite a 
spirited skirmish ensued, and the rebels fled, having losl two or 
three killed, and a captain taken prisoner. We lost a lieutenant 
killed, and a few men wounded. When this skirmish occurred 
our brigade was moved forward on a double quick, and our reg- 
iment constituting its advance, was soon on the ground and in 
line ol battle. The men were dismounted, fences thrown down, 
howitzers pul in position, and every preparation made tor battle. 
Here we stood in readiness for an hour, and I had an opportuni- 
ty of studying the conduct of the men. The joke and Laugh 
went round as if no toe was near. Officers and men were calm, 
not a sign of cowardice could be seen any where About sun- 
down, and while we were still in line, tour or five hundred reb- 
els moved around to our right. The 4th Regulars and 7th In- 
diana were ordered forward, and aft er t hem we went, with a whoop 
and a yell, and as fastashorse flesh could conveniently go. The 
rebels having the start and making equally as good rime ;1S our- 
selves, were enabled to keep out of the way. It was now night, 
and soon a huge column of flame and smoke went looming up m 
our trout. We soon learned that the toe had retreated to the 
smith side of the Bigbee, tributary of the Tombigbee, and set fire 
to the bridge. We then went into camp to await the coining 
morrow. On that night our forces were within ashortmileof 
each other. One camp-fire could be seen from that of the 
other. Two brigades of our command were kept saddled 
during the night, and the men slept with their arms by their 
sides. Stronger pickets than usual were thrown out. That 
blood would flow on the next day all believed. I could see no 
way of avoiding it. The foe was in our front, and in a favora- 
ble position, and if we went forward we would have to give 
battle, if we turned backward Forrest was tuu good a General 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 81 

hot to soe that he could pursue and annoy our rear and flanks." 
Early on the morning of the 21st, the bugles called the sol- 
diers from their slumbers to the saddle. The regiments were 
formed in line awaiting orders. Pursuing further the account 
given by Col. Browne he says: "I awaited impatiently the 
order of march. Just then Gen. Smith rode jp in front of our 
regiment and halted by the roadside surrounded by a knot of 
Aids and officers. They seemed engaged in eager conversation 
I did not go near enough to hear what was passing, but I imag- 
ined I saw anxiety or apprehensioa depicted in the General's 
face. In a short time afterwards, Hepburn's brigade moved 
past on the road we came, in a brisk and hurried trot. W h v 
this retrograde movement? It excited my curiosity. I enquir- 
ed of an officer the reason for it, and being answered that the 
rebels were attempting to flank us upon the left, I was satisfied. 
As soon as that brigade passed, ours formed in its rear, and 
backward we went. Tins left McCrillis and Grierson to bring 
up the rear. I soon became convinced that we were on the 
march back to Memphis, thai it was a retreat — and subsequent 
events have proven the correctness of my suspicions. Before 
proceeding a mile the sharp, quick volleys of musketry, and the 
loud, deep roar of the cannon, told ns in language that could 
not be misunderstood, that our rear was engaged with Forrest. 
And gallantly did they stand and hold their own ground, and 
drive back the enemy. Every hour during that long and bright 
Sabbath, they were skirmishing and battling, always doing their 
work well. Till 4 o'olock p. m., we (the 7th Indiana) were out 
of sight of the enemy. About this hour they made a demon- 
stration on Map Simonson's battalion, it being the rear guard o 
our brigade. The Major promptly deployed two companies ami 
held them at bay. Just then the column was halted, and the 
7th was ordered back to reinforce Gen Grierson. Moving back 
a half mile, we discovered a long line of rebels upon our right, 
moving leisurely through the prairie on a parallel line with 
ourselves. A company was deployed under the command of 

3 



82 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALEY. 

Maj. Beck, and he rode gallantly out into the open field to feel 
for them. Col. Shanks followed to his support with another 
company, and I was left with the regiment. We threw 
down fences and formed in line of battle. Maj. Beck soon 
came upon their flankers and fired upon and drove them in 
upon their main column. He would have charged them but 
was unable to do so because of the intervening hedges and 
ditches. The same obstacles prevented the regiment from en- 
gaging them. In the meantime, Grierson's command came up 
and we moved forward. That the rebels intended to pursue 
our retreating forces, and harrass us at every suitable moment, 
was now quite apparent. At near midnight we went into our 
old camping ground near Okolona, and a more weary and worn 
command had seldom been seen. We were now hurrying rap- 
idly forward to the day of our trouble." 

On the morning of February 22d, the anniversary of Wash- 
ington's birth, the sun rose gloriously in an unclouded sky. Ac 
an early hour the army was in the saddle and on the march. 
The splendor of the morning, and the sight of the long column 
moving on the edge of the prairie, gave the men a glow of pleas- 
ure, and a feeling of confidence. 

Hepburn's brigade had the advance, the 1st the centre guard- 
ing the trains, and the 3d, under (Jul. McCrillis, brought up the 
rear. 

Across the prairie, to the east about half a mile, in the edge 
of the woods, marching on a line parallel with the Union army, 
was seen the advance of the enemy. Both armies were making 
for Okolona. 

A company of rebels were in the town, when the 1st brigade 
arrived at the south edge of it, the 2d brigade having 
passed through. Gen. Grierson ordered Col. Browne to 
throw forward a company of skirmishers. The Colonel ordered 
Lieut. Calkins to move company H forward, which he did, and 
deploying it as skirmishers, was soon delivering a brisk tire into 
thd rebels, and gallantly drove them through the town. The 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. ' 83 

rest of the regiment, with Gen. Grierson and Col. Browne at its 
head, advanced rapidly into the middle of the town. While 
passing along the main street, a rebel appeared at the corner of 
a house, and leaning against it, took deliberate aim at Col. 
Browne and fired. The ball passed, to use the language of the 
Colonel, in speaking of it afterwards, "in uncomfortable proxim- 
ity" to his head. The regiment moved through on the trot, to 
the north side of the town, and under the personal supervision 
of General Grierson, formed in line of battle on the ui e^.t ot a 
hill facing the prairie. A battery was placed in position, and 
the 3d brigrde was hurrying forward to take position on the 
field. In front of the federal line, about a quarter of a mile 
distant, the rebels were formed in the open prairie. Between 
the two lines was a high railroad embankment, behind which 
either side could have offered a stubborn resistance, had one or 
the other ventured on an attack. The two forces stood watch- 
ing each other for the space of an hour, without a shot being 
fired on either side. 

The soldiers now thought that the long expected battle was to 
come off. When they saw the superior position they occupied, 
to that of the rebels, they felt confident of defeating them. Back 
of the federal line was a dense woods and the town of Okolona, 
and the rebels to attack, must advance across a level pararie, 
every man of them in full view of their adversaries, in the face 
of a murderous fire from behind the railroad embankment. If 
driven from that, they had the houses of the town, and the 
woods from which to deliver their fire into the ranks of the 
rebels, who would have been obliged to advance across an open 
field. As they sat on their horses awaiting the attack, they be- 
guiled the time, by promising to celebrate Washington's birth, 
with a glorious victory, and in complimenting Gen. Smith, on 
his generalship, in drawing Forrest towards Memphis, and in 
compelling him to attack on a field chosen by his adversary. 

The 3d brigade having arrived on the field, the 7th Indiana. 
which was the rear of the 1st brigade, and being nearest when 



84 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

the enemy were marching into Okolona, was ordered to the po- 
sition mentioned, because the emergency required it, was order- 
ed to resume its position in its brigade. It slowly withdrew 
its line, and filed to the rear in column of fours, and started off 
on the trot to overtake the brigade. The regiment had gone 
but about half a mile, when the rebels made a furious charge on 
the 3d brigade. They charged into the town right up to the 
battery of howitzers, and captured five out of six of them. The 
scene that followed was terrible beyond description, The 2d 
Tennessee broke and fled in wild confusion. Soon the entire 3d 
brigade stampeded, and became an unebritrolable mob. Its reg- 
iments lost all semble'nce of organization. The men rhrew 
away their arms, and dashed, batless, pell medl to the rear, with 
terror depicted in their faces, deaf alike to threats or entreaties. 
Col. McCrillis and Staff, and Gen. Grierson, made superhuman 
efforts to rally this brigade, but to little purpose. 

The 7th Indiana was ordered back to the support of the 3d 
brigrade. Col. Shanks and Mcijors Heck and Feoles, formed the 
two rear battalions across the road, and (Jul and Map 

Simonson the front one. Scarcely was thi ient thus form- 

ed, when the fugitives of the 3d brigade went pouring through 
its ranks. The officers beat them with then- swords, and cock- 
ed their revolvers in their faces to compel them to halt, but fail- 
ed. The torrent rushed past the 7th, leaving it to contend 
with the entire retel army. This it did until the rest of the 
1st brigade, far in advan se, could be brought back to its assist- 
ance. The two rear battalions tinder Col Shanks, were formed 
on a hill flanked on both sides by ravines. There was room for 
but one company to tight at a time. This, each company did, 
till flanked on both sides by the rebels, when it was compelled 
to retire to escape capture in The one in the rear 

would then engage fch iy, until flanked in like manner 

when it would retire. It battalion 

an ler Col. Bro ^1 Lt was 

form.' I across the ro t grove o\ 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 85 

scrub oaks. Col. Browne dismounted a company, and deployed 
it forward as skirmishers. It soon opened fire on th<= advanc- 
ing enemy. With an exultant yell the rebels charged this skir- 
mish line, but were suddenly brought to a halt by a well-direct- 
ed volley, that emptied many of their saddles, from the remain- 
der of the battalion. A brisk fire then opened on both sides. 
The bloody tide surged against the 7th Indiana hour after hour, 
it yielding its ground only step by step. Many were the anxious 
glances cast at the sun, whose rising on that day was hailed 
with a glow of pleasure, but whose setting was now prayed for. 
As it \v;is about to dip beneath the western horizon, Ivy Farm, 
eleven miles from Okolona, was reached. Over this distance, from 
ten o'clock in the morning, the contending armies had fought, 
contesting the ground foot by foot. The condition of Smith's 
army, at this time, was critical in the extreme. Forrest was 
flanking it on both wings. Smith's brilv hope of avoiding a cap- 
ture of his entire army, was to give Forrest such a sudden and 
severe Check, that darkness would put an end to the striie, be- 
fore he could resume the offensive. 

The field at Ivy Farm, where the most desperate fighting of 
that ill-fated day occurred, sloped cast an eighth of a mile to a 
ravine, that lay north and south. It extended south of the road 
half of a mile, where it was skirted with timber. 

The 7th Indiana took its position on the crest of the hill, on 
the south side of the road. The 4th Missouri was formed in 
close column behind the 7th Indiana. The battery attached to 
the tth Missouri, was placed on the lett of the column near the 
road, and was having a duel with a rebel battery on an opposite 
hill. To the right of the 7th Indiana, a quarter of a mile dis- 
tant, a regiment was formed in the open field, and was engaging 
with its carbines, the enemy formed in the edge of the woods. 
Wreaths of smoke rose from the ranks of the Union regiment 
and floated gracefully away. The line of smoke at the edge of 
the woodH in heated the position of the enemv. 

The rebels in front of the 7th Indiana and 4th Missouri, were 



86 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

formed along the ravine in the the edge of the woods. They 
ceased firing and watched with interest the preparations for the 
" charge." 

Members of the 7th Indiana dismounted and threw down the 
fence in front, so the cavalry could charge through. 

Everything being ready, Gen. Smith, who had personally di- 
rected the formation of the troops, rode up to the 7th Indiana, 
and said. "Colonel Shanks, charge!" The Colonel gave the 
command. " Draw sabres! " and in an instant every blade flash- 
ed in the setting sun-light. ''Forward, charge" rang along the 
line, which was repeated by the bugles sounding the "charge," 
then off-hot the column, like a thunderbolt, down the hill to the 
ravine, over it. into the ranks of the enemy, through a storm of 
bullets from their muskets, and shells from their guns. Sabres 
clashed on muskets, and muskets were fired in the faces of the 
assailants, or used as clubs over their heads. Owing to the na- 
ture of the ground some of the regiment were unable to get close 
enough to the rebels to use their sabres. Under a galling fire 
they coolly returned them to their scabbards, drew their revol- 
vers and poured such a deadly fire into the faces of the rebels 
that it caused confusion in their ranks. The sun having gone 
down, the blaze from pistol and musket illumined the dusk of 
evening. Having accomplished the object of the charge, the 
regiment was withdrawn. 

The enemy had been so severely punished, he did not ven- 
ture on pursuit. A few scouts only went forward to watch the 
movements of their adversaries, but vanished like specters in 
the gathering gloom of night. In this last rencounter, the rebel 
Col Jesse Forrest, a brother of the rebel General N. R. Forrest, 
was killed. 

There were many acts of personal daring performed which 
will be more fully mentioned in another part of this book. Only 
or two instances are given here. Captain James H. Carpen- 
ter of company I. with his own hands captured two prisoners 
and sent them safe]} to the rear. He killed, with his sabre, a 



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90 efiVEHTH INDIANA UAVALK*. 

General Sherman fulfilled to the letter his part of the cam- 
paign. He attacked Polk so vehemently, that he had no time 
.to rest till he was driven across the Tuinbigbee, at Demopohs. 
He had given out on his line of march that Mobile was Ins ob- 
jective point. Not only Polk, but also Johnson in front of lieu. 
Thomas, believed that that was the point he was aiming for, and 
the latter sent a detachment to assist the former in defending 
Mobile. On the 20th, the day on which Gen Smith was driv- 
ing Forrest before him to West Point, Gen. Sherman was moving 
a part of his command northward purposely to cooperate with 
him. On this day it was known, even to the private soldiers of 
General Smith's force, that the rebel General Polk had b^m 
driven across the Tombigbee. Gen. Smith ought to have known 
that Gen. Sherman would so maneuver his command as to ren- 
der him all possible aid. 

When Gen. Smith commenced his retreat on the morning of 
of the 21st, Gen. Winslow'a cavalry was at Louisville, Mississip- 
pi, only lorty-tive tnilea distant, and Forrest's army lav between 
two hostile forces. The retreat was* a surprise to every omcer 
in the command. 

The cavalry force under Gen. Smith was organized with 
great care, it was composed oi picked men. mounted on fresh 
horses, and armed with new and improved weapons. It left 
Memphis feeling itself invincible, but returned a demoralized 

mob. 

It was the cherished object, not only of Gen. Sherman, but 
also of Gen. Grant, to completely destroy Forrest's army. Gen. 
Sooy Smith was selected as the man who could and would ac- 
complish this great result. Me failed ignotninioutfly. 

The casualties of the 7th, in this expedition were as follow-; 

Killed — .John Elmer, of Co. D; Serg't John Rowiett, of Go. E. 
Privates, James M. Jackson and Charles E. Rneple of Co. F; 
Corp'l Jacob E. Shirley, and Private William N. Cole, Co. G; 
Privates John II. 11. MeClellan, Abraham Garbcr, and Albert 
St. John, and Corp'l J>>\lu W. Bai'ger, of Co. 1 ; George W. 

Wood, Co. M.— 11. 



MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN/ 1 9] 

Wounded — First Lieut. Francis M. "Way, Co. B: Second Lieut. 
Jacob C. Skirvin. Co. D; Privates John L. Babcoek, Stillman 
Andrews. Berzillia Horner, and William Mouseholder, Co. A; 
Private John F. Shirley, Co. B: Privates Levi Oliver and Na- 
thaniel Miller, Co. C; Privates George Frederick, John Fitch, 
Israel Warner, Jonathan Swisher, Co. D ; Privates Dennis J. 
Peer, George Dudley, and David Sweigart, Co. F; Private; 3 
Jacob Miller, Isaac H. Tiuitt. isaac Need I mm, Dan Downing, 
Henrv Stewart, Co. G: Sers'ts Robert Or. Smithers and James 
Chisj.m, Co. H ; Serg'ts Adouiram Carr and Henry C. Clifford. 
Corp'l George E. Junes, and Privates Erasmus H. Chaplin, De-. 
lancy A. Dockham, Co I; Serg't Lafayette Burket, Co. K; 
George A title Co. M. — 30. 

Wounded and taken Prisoner — ('apt. John R. Parmelee, and 
First Lieut. John Donch, Co. A ; First Lieut. George R. Kenne- 
dy. Co. C; Absolem McCarty, Co. A; William R. Shoemaker, 
Co. G.— 5. 

Ttken Prisoners — First Serg't Cornelius 0. Neal, James Ea- 
heart, John Johnson. Luna MauUby, Isaac Margeston, Co. A; 
George D. Huffman, Co. D; Corp'l Morris Kelley, Henry Oppe. 
George Rush.. Henry Oarther, Co. C; Franklin D. Wagner, Co. 
D; Andrew F. Lakin, Isaac Bubb, Samuel Downing, Hezekiab 
Stout, Co. G; James Walton, Co. H; .lohn Tignor, Elisha Swords, 
Joseph Ringold, Charles A. Younce, Sylvester Michael, Samnei 
Whitten. Lewis Robinson, Alexander Walker, William F. Mor- 
rison, Brantlev Rayle, William MeGathrie, Co. I; Elias Brangh- 
ten, John McRea, William Ei. Chew, Co. K ; Henry C Priest, 
William Felson. Co. L ; Joseph Linnenweber, Edmund West, 
Wiseman Vest, William Ware. Co. M. — 3ff. Total, 82. 

The whole number ot tne regiment engaged in the battle of 
Okolona was 813. It lost over one ten f h of ita members, Most 
of r.be wounded were left on the £e!d. and unavoidably fell into 
the bands of the enemy. Lieut. Donch, of company A. was shot 
through t.ho body. He was carried back some distance, but. was 
finally abandoned, a qo means of taking him along. 



92 PIYENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Subjoined is the official report of Col. Rrwno, of the par* 
taken by the Vth'iu the expedition to West Point, and battle of 
Okolana : 

Head -Quarters Seventh Indtana vol. Cavalry, ) 
Cam? Grierson, Tejsn., March 12, 1864. / 

LfltojLk,. A- Vezim, A A. A G. 

In submitting the following report of the part taken by this 
regiment in the lat- cavalry expedition made to West Point, 
Mississippi. I have to regret the absence of Col. J. P. C. Shank?, 
who was. during all the time, in command, but who is now ab- 
sent in consequence oi illness induced by the hardships and ex- 
posures incident to the march. Having, however, been constant- 
ly with the command myself. I hope to be able to give the ma- 
terial facts with reliable accuracy. Nothing of interest trans 
pired on the march in which this regiment was concerned, inde 
} endently ot the brigade, until its arrival at the first camp be- 
yond 'Okolona. On the morning of the, 19th of February, the 
5d battalion, consisting of Companies B, F, D nl H, in com- 
mand of Ma} Simonson, was detailed to return to Okolona and 
destroy the railroad, depot, he . at thai place and north of it. 
Pursuant to his instructions he destroyed a bridge on the Mo- 
bile and Ohio railroad of about odd feel in length, five miles 
north oi' town, burned the depo.t, fifty barrels ol salt, a ware 
house containing a large quantity ol Confederate corn, and de- 
stroyed a locomotive at Okolona and after capturing about fifty 
horses and mules, rejoined the command on that i vening. 

On the evening ot the same day, Capt. Elliott with companies 
M and A under instructions, destroyed twenty-three large 

cribs, containing Confederate tithe corn, which had 1 placed 

tor shipment, by the side ol the railroad near Egypt Station 
The quanti ty of corn thus destroyed waf immen e, bui 1 could 
not ventun an opinion ■: - to r he number of bushels. On the 
same day Capt. Elliot) destroyed three bridges of considerable 
size, on the Mobile and Obi i railroad between Egypt and Prai- 
rie Stations. 

On the 20th, being idvised that the adva with 

enemy near West Point, the regiment was ordered rapidly 
forward, and arriving on the ground, immediately formed in 
line pi battle, in good order, upon the tight of the road, Re- 
maining in this position foi nearly an ] our, it was ordered -till 

InieU! p| 



COL. BROWNE S OFFICIAL REPORT. 93 

for the purpose of ascertaining the position of the enemy-; who 
were reported to have hpen recently seen in that direction. A 
march on the double-quick of five or six miles, brought ns at 
dark to the place selected for the night's bivouac, without our 
having discovered the enemy in force. 

On the 21st, on the return to Okolona, the regiment was 
placed in the column of march at the rear of the 1st brigade, the 
2d battalion constituting its rear guard: Toward evening the 
enemy appeared in considerable numbers on our right Hank 
and made a demonstration upon our rear guard, but two com- 
panies being promptly thrown out to meet them, they retired 
without attacking. At this time the regiment was ordered to 
the rear to the assistance ot the 2d brigade, which had been. 
during much of the day. engaged. It was countermarched, and 
proceeded rapidly to the rear, when the enemy was discovered 
upon the light, marching in a direction parallel to our 
column. Maj. Beck fired noon and drove in their flankers, when 
they retired to a safer distance but a more vigorous attack for 
which we had prepared was prevented by the character of the 
intervening ground The 2nd brigade arriving in the mean- 
time, we were ordered to rejoin our brigade. On this day, Capt. 
Elliott, in command of a small detail ot forragers, was attacked 
near the roadside by an equal number of the enemy, when he 
charged upon them with so much spirit that he killed one, 
wounded two severely, captured six prisoners with their hoises, 
arms and equipments, bringing them safely to the command, he 
not having lost a man. 

On the 22d. the regimenl was again placed in the rear of the 
brigade and of the train of contrabands, and captured hoises 
and mules. Upon arriving near Okolona, the enemy was dis- 
covered upon the right in the open prairie moving in the 
direction with ourselves, but keeping the embankment of the 
railroad between them and us. 

By Genera! Grierson's ordei the regimenl moved to the right. 
deploying companv H as skirmishers, which soon becam 
gaged with those ofthe enemy. Moving rapidly forward through 
the centre of the town bo the north side, it formed in lin 
battle, the. enemy forming in its front to the east, and still hug 
ging closely the railroad embankment. The first battalion had 
a brisk skirmish of a few minutes duration with their skirmish- 
ers, driving them rapidly back upon their line. Other regi- 



Ot SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

in position, and everything seemed to indicate that an engagr 
ment was at hand. This regiment having been withdrawn from 
the brigade, left the rear of the train exposed and measurably 
unprotected, therefore after occupying the above position for 
some time, we were, by Gen Grierson s order, relievedby anoth- 
othei regiment, ami directed 10 resume our place in the. column 
ot march This order was being executed but we had moved 
but a tew miles from Okolona before a portion of the force left 
in our rear, came forward in the wildest imaginable disorder 
and contusion, having been attacked and driven hack by the 
enemy. The l.-t battali >n was immediately thrown in line 
.. ircss Hie road, the 2d and °>d forming for its support in its rear, 
(liii- officers now used every reasonable exertion to rally and re- 
form the panic stricken and flying troops that came pouring up- 
on our hne>. To accomplish this was impossible. Very soon 
the forces ol the enemy made their appearance, and sharp skir- 
mishing at once ensued between them and the 1st battalion. 
They were held in check until we were directed to retire by 
r ot (ien Grierson. The regiment then fell back slowly 
and in good order, by alternate battalions, for some distance 
and then resumed its march in column. We had not proceeded 
far before the avalanch ol stampedert; again came rushing upon 
and past onr column, when we again tormed in hue and again 
met the enemy who was at this time pressing the rear closely 
and in considerable force. The fightingat this time was short but 

brisk. The command charged, drove the enemy back, but 

dining exposed to a severe Banking fire, and being unsupported 
we were compelled to fall hick. Here we lost several men in 
killed and wounded, among them Lieut. G R Kennedy ol 
i . who lei';, gallantly leading the charge. Be was left on the 
field. Here w also inflicted consi lerable punishment upon the 
enemy. Falling hack but a short distance, we again halted, 
and held our position till ordered back! Pas ough the 

line formed in oui reai by the "' tients ol the 1st 

ade and a portion ol the 2d l>iig de. Map Beck was ordered 
with two companies of the Lst b.ttalion. and companies ], and 
M by Oen Smith, to the left to p fter going 

a con ■ distant* md ana tintering no 'i-r" .^i " _ force, he 

ommand at Ivy Farm. 
vas now i and the enemy ,T 9s pr isely 

air raar. The regiment formed in I • rtion 



COL. BKuWNE's OFFICIAL REPOIU'. y5 

4th Missouri regiment, which was in position. The dismounted 
men were soon afterwards ordered to their horses, and being 
a^ain mounted, <jen. Smith gave the order "charge." No soon- 
er had the command been given than Maj. Beck wiili companies 
A, E, and Gr, and Maj. Febles witli companies I, K, and M, rode 
rapidly and gallantly forward CO the very lines of the enemy. 
The nature of the ground prevented an effective use of the sabre, 
but the pistol was substituted and did most excellent service. 
Bv this charge the enemy was driven back, many men killed 
and wounded and several taken prisoners. In it this command 
lost heavily sustaining here the larger portion of its losses dur- 
ing tne expedition. At this point and in this charge Lieut. 
John Bonch of company A, was mortally wounded [a mistake, 
he was noi mortally wounded J, and Capt. John R Parmelee was 
either killed or fell a prisoner into the enemie's hands. His late 
it not certainly known. 

Un the 23d we were ordered back from the crossing o( the 
Tallahatchie to the support oi the 2nd brigadeaud took position, 
but the enemy having discontinued the attack, our services were 
nut required. We quietly crossed the river, the bridge in our 
rear was burned and the turd obstructed. Nothing more of in- 
terest oc -lined until the ensuing day. On this day the 1st 
brigade in charge of the trains marched on a different road 
trom the balance of the division, our regiment being in jhe rear 
of the 1st brigade. We arrived without molestation nearly to 
the crossing of the Tippah river, when a small guard, thrown 
out to protect the rear, was suddenly attacked by a considerable 
force ol guerrillas. In this attack We lost one man killed, two 
wounded, and one taken prisoner. As soon as information ot 
the attack reached the column, the regiment was marched back 
and put hi position for their reception, but they made no further 
hustile demonstrations, withdrawing quicklv to the woods and 
the rear. The number of this lorce we could not ascertain with 
Certainty, but a captured contraband who had been the servant 
ol one of its officers, put their number at 200. This ended the 
exciting and interesting part of this expedition so far as this reg- 
iment was concerned. From this point we marched without in- 
terruption to our present camp, at which place we arrived on 
the evening of the 27th ol February. 

Our losses in killed, wounded and missing was eight '//-four, a 
list uf whom has alieady been furnished. 

lu conclusion allow me to say that under the most trying and 



96 SEVENTH INDIANA CAXVL1U*. 

disheartening circumstances by which the command was sur- 
rounded both officers and men behaved themselves admirably. 
To rhe officers both field and line, much credit is due lor t lie 
coolnes. and alacrity with which they executed every order. 
Notwithstanding the disorder and contusion many times tebout 
it the regiment was at nu time disorganized or demoralized. 
Respectlully submitted, 

Thos M Browne, 
Lt. Gol Uomd £. 



Chapter IV. 

l.l XTOWX EXPEDITION. 

Invasion of West Tennessee by Forrest — Gen. Qrierson makes a 
recognizance in force at Raleigh, Term. — (Skirmish and capture 
of color bea/rer-. —JRetum to camp — Forrest concentrates at Tu- 
pelo. Mis*. — Gen. S D. Sturges //lurches against him ivith 
eight thousand men — Reviews the regiment — Heavy skirmish- 
ing ut Ripley — Col. Browne dislodges the rebels by a fUmk 
Movement — Col Karge su rounded on an Island mine Hatch' 
ie r/ver- -Col '. Browne, goes to Ms-relief —Gen. Grierson discov- 
ers Forreht in position at B/ices-C/oss Roads— Battle commenc- 
ed between Forrest and Griersons cavalry— Heroic conduct of 
Col. Browne and the 1th Indiana — Holds its position for two 
hows, and repulses repeated attacks of the, rebels — Infantry 
u.iTires and the regiment withdrawn — - Mturges ovcrwhelminqly 
defeated — jRetreat— Desperate fighting of the colored troops — 
Fight at llipley — Return to Memphis — llh India net compli- 
mented by Gen Grierson. 

The regiment on its return from the expedition to West 
Point, was gie;itly exhausted by the tafigues and dangers it en- 
dured and met. Many of the men became sick and were sent 
to the hospitals. The horses, from inee.-sant marching, and for 
want of forrage on the expedition, were broken down, and scarce- 
ly tit tor service, and many of them died. Not more than one- 
iourth of the men were mounted. Those who were, were almost 
constantly employed on scouting duty, and in chastising the 
guernllas who mJested the woods and bottoms of the Nonconnah 
creek and the Coldwa'ter. These pests, principally under the 
command of the notorious "-Dick Davis," lurked about the 
picket posts, watching for opportunities to capture and kill the 
pickets, and lay in wait in ambush for scouting parties, the 
country about those two streams affording them ample facilities 
for that mode of warfare. 

10 



OS SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Emboldened by his success over Gen. Sooy Smith. Gen. N. B. 
Forrest, in March succeeding, began the invasion of West Ten- 
nessee, in which he attacked Fort Pillow, and put the garrison 
to the sword. A portion of his command approached Raleigh, 
a small town twelve miles north-east of Memphis. 

Gen. Grierson with the 1st brigade, to which the 7th Indiana 
was attached, made a recognizance, in force in that direction. 
He left camp near Memphis on the 2d of April and marched to Ra- 
leigh and camped for the night. On the 3d, he proceeded several 
miles on the road to Lagrange, Tenn., and met the advance of the 
enemy. The regiments took the positions assigned them in line 
of battle. The 7th Indiana, under the command of Map Simon- 
son, dismounted and iormed on the right ot the road in a barn- 
yard, the log stable and corn-cribs therein, answering the purpose 
ot block houses. A skirmish line was advanced in the field in 
front, and a slight fire occurred between it and a tew rebel scouts, 
on an opposite hill. After that had .eased there whs perfect 
quiet for a while, when unexpectedly < a body of about fifty reb- 
els, with veils, charged boldly down the lull into the federal 
line on the left of the road, took a color-sergeant and the colors 
he was bearing, out ot the ranks a. id marched off with him. It 
was a cool audacious proceeding, and was so unexpected that 
the line attacked was taken by surprise. But the rebels were 
sufficiently punished for their temerity. They left on the field 
one man mortally wounded and carried away on their horses 
three others who were wounded Thev were permitted to es- 
cape. After lingering there for an hour without seeing anything 
more of the enemy, the brigade bpgan falling back by regiments, 
and camped on the same ground it occupied the night previous. 
The next day it returned to camp in the vicinity of Memphis. 
Aft-r the massacre at Fort Pillow, Forrest returned with his 
army to Mississippi, and in May succeeding, began massing at 
Tupelo, a force tor some other enterprise. 

General Washburn organized, at Memphis, an expedition to 
march against him, and placed it under the command oi Briga- 
dier General S. i). St urges. 



GUNTOWN EXPEDITION. 99 

General Sturges had the usual reviews proceeding a campaign. 
As he won an unenviable reputation in the expedition about to 
be mentioned, a description of the manner in which he reviewed 
the 7th Indiana, and the effect it had on the men, may not be 
out of place Contrary to the usual custom, he reviewed it, by 
riding in a cab, in front of the regiment. The most that could 
be seen of him was his prodigious black mustache, occasional 
glimpses of which were had through the windows of the cab. 
Derisive remarks about him were made by the men, before lie 
was scarcely out of hearing. On their return to camp, the men 
freely expressed their opinion, that under such a general the 
expedition would prove another failure. 

His force consisted of nine regiments of infantry, some of them 
colored, twenty-iour pieces of artillery, and two brigades of cav- 
alry, the latter under the command of Brigadier Gen. B. H. Grier- 
son. The entire force numbering in the aggregate eight thou- 
sand men. • 

The 7th Indiana, numbering three hundred and fifty men, that 
number being all that could be mounted on servicable horses, 
under the command of Maj. S. E. W. Simonsou, joined the ex- 
pedition at White Station on the morning of the 1st of June. 
Both Col. Shanks and Lieut. Col. Browne were sick when the 
regiment started, and unable to go with it. The latter, however, 
overtook and assumed command of the regiment at Salem, Mis- 
sissippi. 

From White Station, the army marched eastwardly along the 
Memphis and Charleston railroad to Lafayette, where it took a 
south-eastwardly direction, and passing through Lamar and 
Saleno, arrived at Ripley, Miss., on the evening of the 7th of June. 
At Ripley the 4th lowacavalry having the advance, encounter- 
ed a body of rebels, and in the skirmish that ensued, drove them 
through the town, and south of it two miles, where the rebels 
took a. position on the crest of a hill, that could be reached by 
the road, only by crossing a bridge, covered by two pieces of 
artillery and a skirmish Hue. in dose range in the woods on the 
A heav v he. tth [° the 



TOO SEVENTH INDIANA CANVlRY 

rebels, but the efforts of the former, failed to dislodge the enemy. 

The 7th Indiana, which was in the extreme rear of the divi- 
sion, was ordered to the front to the assistance of the 4th Iowa. 

It moved forward on the trot, the troops in front moving to 
either side of the road to allow it to pass. On arriving at the 
bridge, Gen. Grierson, ordered Col. Browne to form his regiment 
on the left of the road, and carry the hill by assault The 
ground, over whieh the regiment bar' to pass; was a low ereek 
bottom, out up by ditches, and covered with logs and fallen 
timber. It was impossible to ad van be mounted. Col. Br wne, 
therefore dismounted the regiment and marched it forward on 
foot. It was now dark, and the men in advancing, were con- 
stantly falling into ditches and stumbling over logs. They, 
however, reached the hill, and the rebels, finding themselves 
flanked, withdrew Without firing a shot Col Browne informed 
General Grierson of the tact, and by his order retired, to near 
Ripley and went into camp. On this day Col Karge, of the 2d 
New Jersey cavalry, was ordered to take four hundred men and 
proceed to Rienzi and destroy the railroad at that point. He 
encountered the enemy beyond Kuckersville and was driven on 
an island in the Hatchie river, and surrounded. 

On the morning of the 8th, a courier, who managed to get 
through the iebel lines, brought inleligence of Col. Karge's 
critical situation. The 7th Indiana, under Col. Browne, and 
the 4th Missouri, were immediately dispatched to bis assistance. 
They met Col. Karge and his command, a few miles beyond 
Ruckersville, he having effected bis escape by swiming his com- 
mand across the river at a point not guarded. The two com- 
mands returned to Ripley. 

On the '»th. the march was continued on the Tupelo road. No 
en< my was seen by the army on this day. The sooute, however, 
reported having seen in the evening, a brigade of rebel cavalry a 

few miles to the east. From the starting of the expedition up 
to this time, ii rained every day. Some days the water fell in 

1 ■ ■ ; , thai flinnrtillrrv and 



GUNTOWN EXPEDITION. 101 

baggage trains could advance but. slowly. This condition of the 
roads, undoubtedly contributed, in a measure, to the disasterous 
defeat on the next day. 

The morning of the 10th of June was clear and pleasant. 
The cavalry division pushed on in advance. The advance guard 
as a matter of discipline, was watchful, but no one suspected 
that Forrest, with his entire army, was a lew miles ahead on a 
carefully selected field, awaiting the advance of Sturges' army 
And no one dreamed that on that day a bloody battle was to be 
fought. The advance guard arrived at Brices-Cross- Roads, a 
few miles from Guntown, on the Ohio and Mobile railroad. 
Here the roads were cut up by fresh tracks, which indicated 
that a force had recently passed over them. This was all that 
was seen that would lead one to suspect the presence of the ene- 
my. The column was halted, and a courier swept to the rear 
to find Gen. Grierson. The General, a moment afterwards, dash- 
ed to the front and carefully inspected the road. He immedi- 
ately dispatched strong scouting parties on the different roads to 
find the enemy. 

A scouting party of fifty men from the 2d New Jersey, went 
on the road running north, and foand the enemy in position half 
a mile from the cross-roads. 

Captains Shoemaker and Branham with fifty men from the 
7th Indiana, went several miles on the Tupelo road. Hearing 
canonading at the crossing, they returned and took their position 
in the regiment in line of battle. When within half a mile of 
the crossing, a body of rebels attempted to cut them off, but 
Capr. Shoemaker ordered a charge, and put them to flight. The 
battle that ensued is generally known by the name of ' Gun- 
town," a small place on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, three or 
four miles lrom the place where the battle occurred. But in the 
official reports it is known as the battle of B rices-cross-roads, 
the name given to the crosping of the road running south-east 
from Ripley to Guntown, and the one laying nearly paralh-1 
wm)i, Mid to the \\m\ ol ; 



102 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

The ground from the crossing sloped gradually north to a small 
creek, less than a quarter of a mile distant, that ran nearly par- 
allel with the Ripley road. Beyond this creek, the ground was 
low and marshy. The fighting principally occurred on the north 
side of the Ripley road: 

The 1st brigade (cavalry) was formed in front of the enemy, 
and the 2d to its right to guard the Tupelo road. The 7th In- 
diana was dismounted and formed in line of t battle on the crest 
of the hill on the right of the road runing north and south oe- 
hind a rail fence. The hill was covered with timber and a thick 
undergrowth ol shrubs. A skirmish line was advanced to near 
the middle of the marsh in front of the line, and awaited the at- 
tack of the enemy. The position occupied by the 7th Indiana 
was a strong one. If it had not been, it could not, unaided, have 
held it as long as it did. 

The enemy were formed on an opposite hill in the edge of the 
woods. For them to advance, they would be obliged! to cross 
the open swamp between the two lines, and be exposed to the 
fire from the Federal lines concealed in the woods. General 
Grierson would have had to encounter the same hazard, had he 
advanced to the attack. 

The batteries of the 14th Indiana and -lili Missouri, were placed 
to i lie left of the 7th Indiana, and did good execution in the ranks 
of the rebels. Speaking of the batteries, Col. Browne said: "I 
passed up to the batteries and watched with delight the effect of 
the bursting bombs. They made the rebels scatter delightfully." 

A brisk tire from the hostile skirmish lines broke< out, which 
lasted some time. A loud cheer rose from the rebels, and al- 
most immediately massed columns emerged from the woods oc- 
cupied by the rebels, and began crossing the open space. Col. 
Browne ordered his men to rf<ov\e their fire till the enemy 
were in close range. When but a few rods distant, the regiment 
from behind the fence, poured such a well directed fire into them 
that it caused them to break in confusion, and retreat to the 

hill, • and agi bed. to tl 



GUNTOWN EXPGDITIOIT. 103 

tack. They were welcomed in the same manner, and again fell 
back before a'withenng fire. They formed in the open space, 
and opened a terrific musketry fire, which had but little effect 
on the 7th Indiana as the men were concealed behind the trees and 
fence. Notwithstanding they had to face a destructive fire not' 
only from the lines, but also from the batteries, yet the rebels 
steadily advanced till they were almost at the line occupied by 
the 7th Indiana. Probably there was no braver fighting done 
during the war, than occurred at this point and at this time. 
Col. Browne, by orders, was compelled to weaken his line by 
.sending Capt. Moore with his company to reinforce a portion of 
the line to the left. He had but 280 men with which to hold 
his position. One-fourth of these were employed in holding 
horses, leaving but about'' 200 men to resist the attacks of the 
enemy. The feats of valor performed by the regiment on this 
day, will be fully appreciated, when it is remembered that it 
was dismounted cavalry, drawn up in the single rank formation, 
to oppose massed columns of infantry, out-numbering it four to 
one. The muzzle of carbine or musket was* placed against the 
body of the assailants or the assailed, and discharged. In many 
instances, the men not having time to re-load their carbine y 
used them as clubs over the heads of the rebels, and even clinch- 
ed and pounded them with their fists. The rebels .on"' getting 
over the fence were either shot, and fell on either side of it, oi 
were knocked off" either with the butts of the carbines, or with 
the fist. It was impossible for the regiment to much Longer 
withstand the assault of such overpowering numbers. The fence 
being carried, the contest was continued .rom bush to bush and 
from tree to tree. '{ In this mode of fighting, the navy revolvers, 
of the 7th Indiana, proved formidable weapons. Many a rebel 
in feeling his way through the heavy loliage of the bushes, 
found the muzzle of a navy in his face and bid good-bye to the 
world. This occurred so often, that it madethe rebels cautious, 
and materiallv abated the vehemence of their attack. 

The rebels were moving a force to flank the regiment on the 



104 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

right. Col. Browne informed Col. Waring, Commander of the 
1st Brigade, of his situation, and asked for reinforcements. Col. 
Waring sent Lieut. Hansen, with information that every man was 
disposed of and that reinforcements were out of the question, 
and ordered Col. Browne to hold his position to the last 
H\nemity. The Hanking movement of the enemy rendered it 
necessary for Col. Browne to shift the position of the regiment 
to the rear and right, to prevent its right flank from Joeing 
turned. He ordered the men to their horses, a tew rods to the 
rear in an open space in the woods. The rebels, seeing the 
movement, advanced their line through the brush and halted 
but a short distance from the 7th Indiana arid opened a 
vigorous fire. The regiment, under this fire at short range, 
mounted as cooly as if they were on parade. War has its 
comical as well as serious aspects. The lines being so close that 
the adversaries could speak to each other, they exchanged 
language more forcible than elegant. 

At this juncture, the gallant Col. Browne, who was always found 
where the conflict was fiercest, received a painful wound in the 
ankle, and his horse was shot. His orderly was shot dead at 
his side. Remounting, the Col. retired the regiment a short 
distance, dismounted the men, and formed them in line, the left 
wing of the regiment resting in a graveyard near the cross pads. 
At last a regiment arrived to reinforce the 7th Indiana, and 
took position on the right of it. For two hours the. 7th Indiana 
unaided, resisted the attacks of the enemy who overwhelmingly 
outnumbered it. The rebels having paid dearly for their slight 
success, made r.o further attempt to break the line at this 
point. Hostilities were now confined to the batteries. A knot 
of officers gathered at the battery at the cross roads, to watch 
the duel. They smiled with delight to see the rebels scamper 
from their guns, when a well directed shell exploded among 
them. But their serenity was somewhat disturbed, when a 
shell from the enemy s battery exploded near them, and kill«d 
two gunners and wounded three others. 



Bumows EXPEDITION. 105 

The infantry by this time began to arrive and take position 
on the held. 

The 7th Indiana was then ordered back on the Ripley road, 
about half a mile, and formed in line ot battle on the north side 
ot the road, on the extreme left of the federal line. 

Gol. Browne, owing to his wound, being unable longer to 
remain with his regiment, turned the command over to Major 
Simonson. 

The ground in front was a field of gentle acclivity. The 
rebels were formed on its crest, behind a fence at the edge of the 
woods. 

The regiment waR dismounted, and advanced half way up the 
hill, and a skirmish line thrown forward of the regiment. The 
entire command was ordered to lie down to protect it from the 
sharpshooters of the enemy. It occupied this position for 
some time, no firing occurring except an occasional shot flu. 
the rebels. 

When the engagement between the enemy and Grierson's 
cavalry commenced, the infantry and most of the cavalrv were 
miles in the rear, toiling through the mud, under a scorching 
sun. General Grierson dispatched messenger after messenger 
to Sturges to hurry on the infantry before he was overwhelmed. 
As his position grew momentarily more precarious, he dashed 
back in person to the infantry to hurry it up. He met Obi. 
McMillan two miles and a half from the field, and told him he 
could not hold his position but twenty minutes longer. The 
gallant Col. told him he would be on the field in twenty 
minutes. The Col. started his column on the double quick, 
which gait it kept till it arrived on the field. Some of his men 
dropped from the ranks exhausted, some fel.l in the road with 
sun stroke, but still the brave men pushed on, intent on saving 
from annihilation the cavalry, that, had fought so gallantly. 

When they arrived on the field, they were almost exhausted. 
The regiments as they came up, took position wherever needed, 
without reference to brigade organization. The 93d Indiana 

10 



IOC SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

infantry was formed on the extreme right. The rebels, with 
their usual perfidy, marched a regiment, bearing the national 
colors, and dressed in the federal uniform, toward it, and when 
within a short distance, poured a deadly fire iiito its ranks. Six- 
ty -five men of the 93d fell under that fire, among them Lieut.-Ool 
Pool and Adjutant Moody. Forrest, as the different [brigades 
oi infantry arrived, hurled his massed columns against them, 
and defeated and routed them separately. Everything done by 
Forrest, showed generalship of the highest order, while Sfurgea 
manifested nothing but treasonable incompetency. 

The scene, witnessed by the 7th Indiana, from its position 
last mentioned, was probably never before seen on a battle field. 
Half a mile from the cross-roads, was a swamp between two 
hills and crossed by the road. The baggage train came down 
the hill nearest Ripley, and occupied nearly all of the road 
across the swamp. The lines were driven back from the 
cross-roads, and were but a short distance from the train. The 
artillery that was being moved to the rear, to save it from 
capture, could not cross the swamp, because the road was 
completely blockaded with the wagons, and necessarily fell into 
the hands of the enemy. To make things worse, the officer in 
charge of the baggage train, attempted to turn it back, and got 
a few wagons crosswise with the road, when the mules and the 
wheels of the wagons on getting out of the narrow road-bed, 
were mired, and could not be moved. 

Maj. Simonson was now ordered to withdraw the 7th Indiana, 
all the other cavalry regiments having left the field. The Maj. 
knew, that the moment the regiment began a backward movement, 
that the rebel line in his front would charge him. He therefore 
Ordered every othej- man to stand fast, and deliver a tire at ihe 
enemy the moment they crossed the fence on the hill, while the 
rest retreated a few rods, faced about, and in like manner fired . 
at the enemy till the front line had taken a new position to the 
reap-, when it would retire. The withdrawal of the 7th 
presented a splendid picture. When it began, as was expected, 



CTJNTOWN EXPEDITION. 107 

the rebels were -quickly over the fence in pursuit. The two 
lines were in full view on the open field, one advancing And the 
other retiring. Blue smoke curled up from the muskets on the 
one side, and from the carbines on the other. 

When within a few rods of their horses, the men of the 7th 
Indiana, made a rush for them, and Bpeedily vaulting into the 
paddles, wheeled to the left in column of fours, and started to 
leave the field. The regiment had to cross the creek, by 
jumping the horses over it. A tolerably good place was ioiind 
for this purpose, but only one or two men could cross at a time. 
This caused delay, and compelled a great part of the regiment 
to sit on their horses in the field, exposed to the fire of the 
enemy. The rebels were pressing so closely, that there was dan- 
ger of some of the companies being captured en-masse. Maj. 
Simonson therefore gave the order for each man to get across 
the best way he could. The men broke ranks, and dashed 
through the willows that fringed the banks of the creek, and 
spurred their horses into and over it. Some of the horses being 
too weak to clear the creek, jumped into it and mired, when 
their riders were compelled to leave them and save themselves 
on foot, The crossing was done so hurriedly, that the men got 
separated from their companies, but it was the only thing that 
caused confusion in the regiment on that day. But in less than 
half an hour, every mm was in his proper place. The entire 
army was now in total rout. The infantry was streaming by 
the wagons in the marsh, beyond the control of its officers, 
while shot and shell from the enemy's guns plunged through 
them. The scene that ensued beggars description. The 
teamsters, the inevitable curse of a defeated army, cut the mules 
loose from the wagons, mounted them and dashed madly r,o the 
rear, riding down every one in the way. 

Gen ftturges was on the hill, beside himself with excitement. 
He ordered Lt. Gleason of company '*A," and Lt. Cogley of 
company "F," of the 7rh Indiana, to halt some men and form 
them across the road, and shoot down ever stiv.ggler that 



108 6IVENTH INDIANA. CAVALRY. 

attempted to pa.f>3. These officers, by threats, succeeded 
momentarily in checking the current, but it soon became so 
large that nothing could restrain it. It broke through fh* 
line and rushed to the rear. It was pitiable to see the. colored 
poldiers, who well knew that they would he shot without mercy 
if captured, when compelled to halt, some knelt down and 
prayed, others threw themselves on the ground, and sobbed in 
the greatest agony of despair. 

After the stragglers had gone by, the 7th Indiana was formed 
on the crest of the hill facing the enemy, and compelled to stand 
under a furious cannonade, directed at the retreating infantry. 
The colored brigade was still in the rear, fighting furiously. It 
saw some of its members shot, after they had surrendered. 
This nerved them with the energy of despair. The repeated 
yells of the rebels, told of the fury of the onslaught, and the 
crashing volleys from the brigade, of the determination of the 
defence. The poor fellows, after exhausting their ammunition, 
ran about the field, to get cartridges from the boxes of their 
dead comrades, and boarded the ammunition train and loaded 
themselves down with cartridges, and renewed the conflict 
with unabated bravery. It was the division of the rebel 
general French, celebrated for its hatred lor, and barbarous 
treatment of, the colored troops, that made this attack <. u the 
colored brigade. It was a contest of courage between the 
chivalry of the South and the despised African. The pride of 
the former was humiliated by the soldierly qualities of the 
latter. 

A body of colored troops covered the retreat of fifteen 
hundred white soldiers all the way from the battle field to 
Collierville. Another body oi about 300, that got separated 
from the army, successfully resisted the attacks of the rebel 
lavairy, and tohed the guerrillas, and arrived at Memphis a lew 
- alter the. batl 

The 7th Indiana was soon ordered to withdraw from the 
tion lasl mentioned, and, take it.- place in the column oJ 



GU2TT0WN EXPEDITION 109 

retreat. At daylight, the army passed through Ripley. At 
that place some heavy fighting occurred between Forrest's 
advance and the infantry, in which both sides lost heavily 
From Ripley, the cavalry took the advance, and was constantly 
annoved by the enemy till near Collierville. The retreat was 
continued night and day. The men were completely exhausted, 
by the fatigues of the battle, and the want of sleep. Nature 
will assert, her demands. Notwithstanding the presence of 
danger, the men went to sleep in the saddle, and fell from their 
hoses, and were trampled on by them. Even the animals 
suffered lor rest and sleep as much as the men. They staggered 
against each other, and frequently fell, unhorsing their riders. 
Many ol them unable to travel further were abandoned, and the 
unfortunate owners compelled to plod along on foot. Many of 
the men thus dismounted, laid down by the road-side, to sleep, 
and awoke to find themselves prisoners. Many of them fell 
into the hands of the merciless Guerrillas and were murdered in 
cold blood. 

The wagon-train, with the supplies of rations, owing to the 
stupidity of General St urges, was captured, and as aeonsequence 
the men were almost starving. Forrest pursued so vindictively, 
that there was no time to forrage. 

Frequently, when, a soldier in turning his haversack inside 
out to empty the crumbs into his hand, dropped a piece of 
cracker not larger than an inch square, the men in his rear 
seeing it, would jump from their horses and scrabble for it, and 
that, too. alter it had been tramped into the mud by the 
horses feet. 

Those of the wounded who could not ride on their horse- were 
left behind. Among them, was the brave Capt. Joel H. Elliott, 
who was shot through the shoulder. 

General Sturges in this expedition, suffered a disgraceful 
defeat, lost his emire wagon-train, and supplies, nearly all of 
his artillery, and his reputation as a soldier. 

In the battle of JJriees- Cross-roads, the 7th Indiana acquired 



110 BEVENTH INDIANA CANYLRY. 

new laurels and wrung; from Col. Waring, commander of ta* 
lft Brigade, the following complimentary recognition of it* 
services : 

Head Quarters First Cavalry Brigade. 16, A. C 1 
Camp at White Station, June loth, le>64. / 

Mayor: 

By my action, proceedings were some time since instituted 
against several officers of the 7th Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, 
and they were ordered to appear be lb re a Military Commission 
for examination, I respectfully but earnestly request that further 
action in these cases be stopped, and the papers be returned to 
me. The 7th [ndiana Cavalry was in action under my command, 
on the 10th inst., at Brices-Cross-roads, Mississippi, and for 
two hours fought most gallantly against superior forces. From 
Lieutenant-Colonel Browne commanding to the last private, 
their > onducl was brilliant and soldierly in the extreme. I am 
sure that such brave men can not tail to become, in all respects 
good officers, if allowed another opportunity under proper 
control. 

Very Respectfully your Obedient Servant, 

Geo. E. Waring. Jr.. 
Col. 4th Mo. Cav. Com'd'g. 

In instituting the proceedings referred to in the abovp. 
communication, Col. Waring was aiming at no less a person than 
Col. Shanks himself, for whom he had a dislike. He pretended 
that Col. Shanks had a keener eye to his political advancement 
at home, than to th^ proper discipline of his regiment. Although, 
Col. Shanks was, to a certain extent, a politician, and had been 
in Congress previous to organizing the regiment, yet, the charge 
thai he neglected any of his duties as a soldier, and commanding 
officer, was without any foundation whatever. From the 
organization of the regiment, till its return to Memphis from the 
expedition to Wesl Point, Col. Shanks was almost constantly in 
command of it. 

The fact, that the regiment was shifted from front to rear, 

or from rear to the front, or to the flanks, to meet threatened 

er, shows that not only Gen. Grierson, out Col. Waring 

ient military i ition, that 



GUNTOWN EXPEDITION. Ill 

could be relied on in any emergency. The brilliant conduct of 
the regiment on the 22d of February, on the retreat from 
Okolona, under the command of Col. Shanks, relieved Gen. 
Smith's failure, of a portion of the odium attaching to it, and, in 
brief, saved the greater portion of his army from capture A 
regiment that could fight so well and accomplish so much, must 
have had an able commanding officer. 

Col. Waring's every act showed that he had more confidence 
in the 7th Indiana cavalry than he had in his own regiment. 
He was forcibly reminded of it by a private of the 7th who rude 
up to him. when he placed the regiment in the rear aftef Sturgea 
army was routed, and allowed the 4th Missouri to pass to the 
front out of danger, and asked him. why, he always placed the 
7th in positions of danger, and his own regiment in places of 
comparative security. The Colonel, knowing the truth to be as 
stated, did not get angry with the soldier or reprove him. but 
said, as he rode away, that he would send the 4th Missouri back 
to the rear; but it did not come. 

General Grierson recognized the gallant services of the 7th 
Indiana, in an order, in which the following complimentary lan- 
guage occurs : 

" Yonr General congratulates von upon vonr noble conduct 
during the late expedition. Fighting against overwhelming 
numbers, under adverse circumstances, yonr prompt obedience 
to orders and unflinching courage, commanding the admiration 
of all, made even defeat almost a victory. For hours, on foot, 
yon repulsed the charges of the enemy's infantry, and, again, in 
the saddle, you met his cavalry, and turned his assaults into 
confusion. Your heroic perseverance saved hundreds of vour 
fellow soldiers from capture. You have been faithful to your 
honorable reputation, and have frilly justified the confidence and 
■merited the high esteem, of your commander." 

The following is the official report of the casualties of the 7th 
Indiana cavalry in this expedition and battle; 



112 seventh indiana cavalrf. 

Camp White Station, near Memphis, Tenx., } 

June 14, 1864. J 

FIELD AND LINE WOUNDED. 

T. M. Browne. Lieut. Col., in the ankle. 

J. H. Elliott, Capt. Co. M, in left lung and shoulder severely. 

James Sloan, 1st Lieut. Co. E, in rifiht .side aud shoulder 
>e\ eiely. 

Company A — Killed, Serg't John Marsh, Private Lyinau 
Temple. 

Company B — Killed, Edward Gray, George W. Gray. Miss- 
ing, George W. Smith. 

Cowpany C — Killed, Corp. Josh McOann. Wounded, Geo. 
VV. Knapp in arm, Seth S. Heaton, slightly. Missing, Ferdi- 
nand Santz, Philander Underwood. 

Company D — Wounded. Thomas Starkey in leg severely. 

Company E — Killed, Daniel Vanr-amp. Wounded, Hum- 
ph' ey Davis slightly. Missing. Thomas J Updide. 

Company F — Missing, Corp. Wm. H. Fink. 

Company O — Killed, Timothy Keiley. Wounded. Adam 
Nelson slightly, Andrew Lakiu severely. Missing, Serg't Geo. 
W. Kennedy. 

Company H — Wounded, John P. Baker. Missing. Wm. Win. 
field. 

Company I — Killed, Gideon Wing, orderly to Lt. Col. T. :M. 
Biowne. Wounded, Louis Gercean. Missing, James Cherry. 

'ompany K — Killed, Valentine Becker. Missing, John J. 
Collins, Uriah G. Hatley, Julius Oppero, James H. Lewis. 

Company L — Wounded, Serg't R. M. Beatly in thigii severely, 
Corp. Vance McManigal in side severely, Calvin Griton in thigh 
slightly. Missing, Henry K. Zook. 

Company M — Missing, Joseph Walker, Olney N. Ratts, Rolin 
W Drake, Asbury Longer. 

There was only a detachment of some 340 of the regiment in 
the engagement, the balance being unable to accompany the ex- 
pedition lor want of horses. We succeeded in getting must of 
our wounded orf the field. Capt. Elliott was so severely wound- 
ed that we were compelled to leave him some twenty-five miles 
back, but he will be sent for and brought in under a flag of truce. 
Very Respectlully, 

John Q. Reed, 
Lieut, and Acting Adj't. 



■. o L . BROW N E ' S F F 101 AL B 1. P RT. 11 3 

the official report of Lieut. Col. Browne is here given. 

Head -Quarters Seventh Indiana Cavalry, } 
Camp at White Station, June 16, 1864, / 

Zficwt .4. Fezwi, X -4. -4. £: 

1 herewith respectfully submit the following report of the 7th 
Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, as to the part taken by it in the 
late expedition of Gen. Sturges to Brtces Cross -Roads, Miss., an.. I 
the engagement that ensued at that place: 

The regiment, 350 strong, in command of Ma). S. E. W. Si- 
monson. joined the expedition at this camp on the morning of 
the 1st i nst. It proceeded without serious interruption to Sa- 
lem, Miss., at which place I Overtook the command, on the after- 
noon of the fourth (4th) inst. 

Nothing occur/rod of particular interest beyond the usual inci- 
dents of scouting and torraging until our arrival at Ripley, on 
the evening of the 7th inst., at which place the advance <>! Gen. 
Sturges was fired upon by a small party of rebels, but being 
charged, fled precipitately through the town, and some two 
miles to the south of it, when- securing an advantageous position 
on the crest, of a hill, which could only be opproached by pass- 
ing over a narrow canswav," they made a stain!, and for a short 
time obstinately contested a further advance. A portion. of the 
4th Iowa cavalry, having engaged them in a spirited skirmish 
of an hoar's duration, and having tailed to drive the enemy, 
this regiment was ordered forward from the rear of the cavalry 
division to the front. We moved forward at once, hut met the 
dismounted horses of the Iowa regiment on the bridge coming 
to the rear, which fact delayed for a. few moments our advance. 
Arriving on the ground we were ordered to take a position on 
the left of the road and to move troin thence forward and carry 
the hill. Tne ground upon the left was of such a character 
from marshe? and ditches that it was impossible to maneuver the 
regiment mounted. The regiment was at once formed in line, 
the men dismounted and moved forward to the hill, occupying it, the 
enemy retiring at our approach without firing upon us. It was 
now dark. I sent Gen. Grierson information of the situation of 
affairs, and by his orders retired. 

On the 8th inst., we proceeded with the 4th Mo. cavalry to 
Rucker.ville to the relief of Col. Karge. Meeting the Colonel 
with his command a short distance beyond that place we return- 
ed, rejoining our forces on the same day at Ripley, where we 
camped for the night. 

12 



114 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

On the 10th inst. at Brices-cross-roads, Captains Branhaiii 
and Shoemaker were sent forward, by Col. Waring's order, with 
fifty men, on the Tupelo road, to ascertain if possible, the where- 
abouts of the enemy. While they were absent the enemy were 
overed in force in position but a short distance from us on 
the left hand road. The cavalry forces were moved into posi- 
tion. This regiment was placed by direction of Col. Waring, on 
the right of the road, supporting the battery of the 4th Mo. ea\ - 
airy, which was upon our immediate left. The position was 
well selected, being in the edge of a grove on elevated ground in 
tiie rear of a fence and having a large open field between us and 
the enemy. Over this open space the enemy would have to 
pas- to attack us. The regiment was dismounted and placed in 
the rear of the fence and skirmishers thrown out into the open 
field in front. The enemy occupied a strong position on a wood- 
ed hill, immediately in front of which was a swamp, so that to 
attacked them with a cavalry force only, would have been 
disastrous. We awaited them in our position, our skirmishers 
and battery, in the mean time, keeping up a very lively lire. 
Col. Waring instructed me to hold the position occupied by us 
to the last extremity, due men were directed to lay close' to 
the fence and reserve their tire until the enemy should be at 
short range. While this was taking place, quite a demonstra- 
tion was made by the enemy upon the extreme left, and by or- 
der of the Colonel Commanding Capt. John M. Moore, with »'". 
II ol this regiment was ordered to that point. Soon after the 
_ ; N. J. cavalry, which were upon our right, was moved to an- 
i position leaving this command on the extreme right of the 
1st brigade. At half after one o'clock, p. m., and after we had 
held this position some two hours and a half, the enemy ap- 
ihed our front and right in heavy force. They had two 
linen of skirmishers and a line ot infantry supporting them. In 
a moment, I discovered that the position could not be long held 
by us without reinforcements, as they could overwhelm us with 
numbers. At this time my command only numbered about two 
hundred and eighty men, -one-fourth of whom were holding 
s. 1 dispatched an orderly to the Col. commanding, 
isl ing thai a force be sent to my right, but was informed in 
reply that In- had already disposed ot every available man in 
ide, and that to give me assistance was impossible; 

By this tune the enemy were advancing rapidly and 
apting to turn our right, The regiment was rallied to the 



col. lrowne's oefictal report. 115 

right and soon the conflict became desperate. 'But a fehv y*ards 
intervened between their line and ours, and indeed so close did 
they approach us, that our men in a few instances employed the 
butts of their carbines in resisting their advance. At this point 
the enemy suffered severely as we could see many of them fall 
before our fire. It soon became evident that we were being 
flanked on the right and that to hold our position much longer. 
would be impossible. We had maintained our ground for near 
three hours and the enemy's lire at such short ranee became 
murderous. 

As our infantry were coming up and going into position, we 
were ordered to tall back, which we did in i. lerahV , ; r. 

While this was transpiring on the right, the ioree oi Cap!. 
Moore which had been .sent to the lell was by no means idle. 
He was constantly engaged skirmishing with the enemy until he 
rejoined the regiment near the wagon-train in the rear of the 
cross-roads. 

Upon leaving the field at the cross-roads, feeling too weak to 
continue longer in command, I turned it over to Maj. Simonson, 
to whose judgment, coolness and bravery, both on the field and 
in the subsequent retreat, I am greatly indebted. 

Upon falling back on the Riplev road, Maj. Simonson was 
directed to take the regiment and rejoin the brigade at the rear. 
Arriving at the brigade, by Col. Waring's order, two battalions 
under the command of Capts. Wright and Hubbard were 
dismounted and thrown forward in line on the crest of a hill 
to the left of the road- The remaining battalion in command of 
Oapt. Ryan was ordered to the left to hold the enemy in cheek 
and prevent his passing our left flank to our rear. In this 
position the command was constantly skirmishing for about an 
hour, when it was ordered " to horse" under a heavev hie. 
From this it marched about one mile to the rear, and again 
formed by order of General Grierson, on the left. It remain- : . 
'n this position until the infantry came up when it was ordered 
to fall back. It then took up the march in the rear of 
brigade and arrived at Ripley at daylight the next morning 
Halting there a short time to rest, it was placed in the advance 
and moved for Memphis. With the residue of our forces \i 
marched all the clay and night, the rear being constantly 
barrassed by the enemy, an - i safely at Collierville 

the mor,nmg of the 12th inst 

[ pan n..t sneaks in terms of t-,-,o high commend 



116 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY, 

conduct of the officer? Jtnd' men of this command in thi? 
reginlent. To name ?nra<> when all did their duty so weli, 
would he unjust. Of the line officers Capt. Elliott of Co. "M," 
and Lieut Jamea Sloan of Co. "E," were Seriously wounded 
whde gallantly engaging the enemy. I regret deeply that we 
were unahle to bring Capt. Elliott hack to camp, but hope he 
may yet he brought safely to the command. 

Our Iocs is as follows: killed, 8; wounded, 16; missing. 17: — 
a list of whom I have heretofore forwarded. 

Very Respectfully, your Obedient Servant, 

Thos. M. Brownk, 
Lt.-Ool. Com'd'g. 



Chapter V 



EXPEDITION TO FORT GIBSON. 



The Regiment goes to Vicksburg by Steamboat — Then Marches 
to. the Big Black — Skirmish at Ltica — Rebels Driven through 
Port Gibson — ~tli Indiana has a Running Fight to Bayou 
Pierce — Wirt Adams Repulsed at Grand Gulj — Regiment 
Returns to Memphis. 

About the 1st of July, 1864, lien. A. J. Smith organized an 
expedition to march against Forrest, at Tupelo, Mississippi. On 
l\\e 14th, he encountered the rebels under Forrest at that place, 
ami defeated them. 

As a co-operative movement, the 1st Brigade, including the 
7th Indiana Cavalry, was sent down the Mississippi river in 
transports to Vicksburg, and from there marched against Wirt 
Adams in the neighborhood of Port Gibson. 

At twelve o'clock on the 4th of July, the regiment broke 
camp at White Station and marched to Memphis, where it 
em balked on steamboats. 

On the morning of the 5th, the expedition started down the 
Mississippi. On the evening of the 7th, tin; command lisem- 
barked at Vicksburg and immediately started for the Big Black 
River, where it camped at midnight. The next day, the entire 
force under G<n. Slocura, crossed the Big Blaek, marched to 
Raymond, and from there to Otica, where the advance encoun- 
tered and drove a small body of rebels through the town, soon 
after, the rest oi the force arrived, and camped for the night. 
I'i.e next day about two hundred rebels attacked the picket 
lines, and a spirited skirmish of about an hour's duration 
resulted, when the rebels were put tc flight; losing several 

From I !"tjoa. Hi- eniiMiiind mar ;|j j 



US SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

to Port Gibson, defeated a small force of rebels, and went into 
camp near the town. 

The next day Gen. Sloe.um, leaving the 7th Indiana and the 
2d Xew Jersey Cavalry regiments under the command of Col. 
Shanks, as a rear guard, marched with the remainder of his 
force to Grand Gulf. 

About ten o'clock in the morning, the rebels attacked the 
picket lines, and a skirmish lasting for near an hour took place- 
Col. Shanks withdrew his force through the town, and hail 
scarcely quitted it, when the rebels were infoimed of his 
departure by the ringing of the church bells. Soon atter, the 
rebel cavalry were seen marching through the town in pursuit. 
The 7th Indiana Cavalry was placed in the rear, and slowly 
retreated by companies. When the rebels approached near 
enough, the company in the rear would fire a volley into them, 
and retire, the next company would form face to the rear, and 
in like manner deliver a fire at the rebels when they pressed 
too closely. 

In this manner, the retreat was conducted for several miles 
to Bayou Pierce, without, the slightest disorder in the ranks. 
At the Bayou, the rebels, hoping to cut off the rear companies 
and capture them, charged with yells upon the rear. All the 
command had crossed the Bayou, except company "F' of the 
7th Indiana. It was formed near the banks of the stream. 
faced to the rear, and when the rebels made their appearance 
around a bend in the road, fired a volley into them at short 
range, which caused them to halt. It then crossed the Bayou, 
and the regiment proceeded to Grand Gulf and camped. 

After the 7th had crossed the Bayou, a regiment of colored 
troops were formed in an ambuscade, into which the rebels run, 
losing several in killed and wounded. The next morning, the 
rebels attacked and drove in the pickets, but were soon met by 
the First Brigade of Cavalry, and after losing thirty killed and 
wounded, and a number of prisoners, withdrew. The prisoners 
repoi '■'• lams, thinking that th» most of Slpeum's 



EXPEDITION TO PORT GIBSON. li9 

force had departed for Vicksburg, determined to attack and 
capture the remainder at Grand Gulf. Contrary to his ex- 
pectations, Gen. Slocum was present with his entire force, and 
Adams was compelled to hastily retreat. The regiment, with 
the rest of the command, embarked on transports and went to 
Vicksburg. 

From Vicksburg, the regiment went up the Mississippi, to 
Memphis, where it disembarked, and marched to its old camp 
tit White Station, arriving there on the 24th of July. 



Cfl \ ri l i: VI. 



Fiyhtat, Tallahatchie river Gen, Hatch pursues the rebel Gen. 
( 'hakners to Oxford ami return* ti, the Tallahatchie — \4 briy- 
oih of cavxlry returns to Ilalhj Springs- Capt. Sheldon with 
thirty nan attacks six hundred rebels at Lamar Station, in the 
night, and runs them through tht town— Forrest's raid into 
Wemphis Gen. Washburn barely escapes capture. 

In a few days alter the return of the regimenl from Vicks- 
burg, Gen. A. .1. Smith, with ten thousand men, consisting <>! in- 
fantry, cavalry and artillery, started once more in search oi For- 
rest, lie marched to Holly Springs and camped three or four 
days, while a detachment pushed on to the Tallahatchie river, 
• in thr Oxford road, to repair the railroad bridge al that point. 
The rebel Gen. Chalmers was then- with his brigade, and inter- 
rupted the work c»n the bridge with a battery planted on the 
.-<ci] h side nt' i he ri\ er. 

The 7th Indiana cavalry with the Lst brigade marched rapidly 
Mom Holly Springs to the river. When several miles distant 
tic boom oi cannon was heard, and ii was expected that an en- 
gagemenl would take place at the river. The regimenl arrived 
there in the middle of the afternoon. Two companies, F and 
another, its letter the author is not able t<'» recall, immediately 
crossed t-> the south side, and forming in skirmish line, advanced 
cautiously, and compelled the rebel sharp-shooters t" take posi- 
tion further from the river, where they could not so effectually 
anno) the pioneers at work on the bridge. 

A lively skirmish was kept up all the afternoon. But not 
withstanding, the work on the bridge progressed rapidly, and, 
by night, it was so far completed that troops could cross on it. 
During a continuous fire from the lebels, directed at the pio- 
iie<ri-, only two were slightly wounded. The skirmish was 



EXPEDITION TO OXFORD. 121 

comical character. A rebel sharp-shooter would fire at the men 
on the bridge, and exclaim, " How is that Yank?" The pio- 
neers would defiantly retort, " You have got to do better than 
that ! " The skirmishers would watch for the smoke from the 
gun of a sharp-shooter, posted in a tree, and fire at it, and shout, 
"How do you like that, Reb?" The rebels, if no damage was 
done, would rejoin, "Oh, what shooting!" However, a sharp- 
shooter was seen to descend from a tree as if a ball had passed 
uncomfortably near. The rebels then withdrew to a safer dis- 
tance, and the serio-comic fight was ended. The companies of 
the 7th Indiana recrossed the river and went into camp with 
the main army on the north bank. 

Early the next morning, the cavalry, under the command of 
Gen. Hatch, crossed the river and started in pursuit of Chalmers. 
The latter was posted at Abbeyville, a small town two miles 
from the river. On the approach of the cavalry, the rebels 
opened fire with their artillery, and after a brief skirmish, aban- 
doned their position and retreated on the road to Oxford. 

Occasionally through the day, when their rear was hotly 
pressed, the rebels faced about with their artillery and opened 
fire, but soon limbered up, and galloped off the field, on discov- 
ering preparations for a charge. 

In the evening about an hour before sunset, one mile from Ox- 
ford, the rebels posted their cannon on a hill, opened a brisk 
fire, and seemed determined to oppose the entrance of Gen. 
Hatch into the city. The 7th Indiana cavalry was ordered to 
the front and formed for a charge, but the rebels did not wait 
for it, but hastily limbering up, left Oxford to their left and 
started south. The 7th Indiana and another regiment passed 
through Oxford, and two miles south of it, but discovering noth- 
ing of the rebels, returned to the^ main column and bivouaced 
for the night. 

Further pursuit of Chalmers was abandoned, and the next day 
Gen. Hatch returned to the Tallahatchie river. The 7th India- 
na, with the 1st cavalry brigade returned to Holly Springs. 

13 



122 SEVENTH IVMANA CAVALRY. 

From there, Capt. Wright of company D, with a battalioh of the 
7th Indiana cavalry, was sent north on the railroad to recognoi- 
ter, and to disperse any Guerrilla parties that might interfere 
with the railroad. Capt. Wright marched to Hudsonville, where 
he halted, but sent Capt. Skelton with company F to Lamar 
Station on the railroad. 

Capt. Skelton with but thirty men, arrived at Lamar about 
sundown, and bivouaced half a mile north of the town in a 
grove of young oaks. About ten o'clock that night, a scout, 
sent out by Capt. Skelton, discovered a body of rebels entering 
the town, and conveyed the intelligence to the Captain. Capt. 
Skelton, believing it to be a Guerrilla party, mounted his men, 
and started in pursuit. He encountered them at the railroad 
crossing at the edge of the town, and charged them so vigorous- 
ly and unexpectedly, that the entire force, numbering six hun- 
dred, was put to flight and driven pell-mell through the town 
and a short distance beyond it. This rebel force was Gen. For- 
rast's old regiment, that he recruited and commanded when a 
Colonel, and was composed of picked men. It was always relied 
upon by Forrest in a dangerous enterprise. Col. Kelley was in 
command of it. It was afterwards learned that this force was in- 
tended to dash into Memphis, and at the time of its surprise, 
was on its way there; thus, Capt. Skelton had the honor of de- 
feating, for a time, the plan of Forrest to capture that place. 
The Captain lost the Author, wounded and taken prisoner, and 
another man wounded. The rebels lost several killed and 
wounded, and at one time nearly one hundred prisoners were 
taken ; but the rebels rallying, Capt. Skelton was compelled to 
retire and let them escape. The full particulars of this daring 
enterprise will be given in the sketch of Major Skelton. 

Col. Kelley retreated to Okolona, Miss. Gen. Smith, with 
the greater part of his army was at the Tallahatchie river, wait- 
ing for the repair of the railroad bridge and for the arrival of 
supplies, alter which he marched to Oxford. 

While at Oxford, Forrest, by a dextrous movement, slipped 



EXPEDITION TO OXFORD. 123 

his army to the rear of Smith and suddenly appeared at Memphis, 
dashed into the city, killed a few soldiers and captured 200 
prisoners. His stay was very brief — about twenty minutes. The 
federal troops, soon recovering from their surprise, rallied and 
drove him from the city as rapidly as he entered it. Colonel 
Browne was in the city at the time and in a letter to a friend, 
gives the following facetious account of it: " I was in the city 
when Forrest took it, saw the whole afiair, was shot at and had 
to vacate my position to save my ' bacon.' I was quietly sleep- 
ing in our court room on my cot, when I heard the firing com- 
mence. I put on my clothes and hurried into the street to see 
what was up. I had gone but two squares before I discovered 
rebel cavalry charging on almost every street. It was just at 
day-break, and they got quite near me before I discovered who 
they were. Having on my uniform and being unarmed, I 
thought 'distance would lend enchantment to the view' and I 
mizzled, but not until a few stray bullets admonished me that I 
occupied a position, that in a military sense, was wholly untena- 
ble. One bullet took out a window pane a few feet from me. 
The rebels just then were being kept very busy. Our guards 
were rallying in every part of the city and sending volley after 
volley into them. Our officers, who were in the city temporarily, 
wese cracking at them from the windows of the buildings. Dead 
horses and men were soon visible on every street. The rebs did 
not stay long; they took some two hundred prisoners, killed 
about ten of our men in town, and took two hundred horses, 
robbed a cigar stand at the Gayoso House and then run like the 
devil. There were probably eight hundred rebs in town, and 
from two thousand to three thousand at the outskirts. Our 
forces soon rallied and pursued, and a very spirited fight took 
place from three to five miles from the city. The rebs were 
whipped with a loss of fifty or sixty killed and an equal number 
of prisoners. Taking it all together, they did not make much 
money in the operation, and will probably not try another raid 
on Memphis soon. Our forces 'were nearly all away under 



124 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Smith, and our Generals were taken by surprise. Washburn 
(Gen. Washburn) came very near being captured. He had to 
rim to Fort Pickering minus his breeches." 

There remained at White Station, when this expedition start- 
ed, and were there at the time of the capture of Memphis, a part 
of the 7th Indiana cavalry and cf some other regiments, and 
would have fallen an ea'sy prey to Forrest, if he had turned his 
attention to them. The fact that they were not molested shows 
the haste Forrest was in to get away from Memphis. 

Aside from the complete surprise, this dash of Forrest's was 
devoid of any military results; while it must be conceded that a 
practicable joke was played on Gen. Washburn, by compelling 
him to flee the city dishabille, yet the laugh comes in against 
Gen. Forrest, who was compelled to quit the city in equally as 
undignified haste, without time to eat his dinner at the Gayoso 
House, where he registered his name. Gen. Smith received in- 
telligence at Oxford of the capture of Memphis, and began his 
return by forced marches. On the 29th of August the cavalry 
arrived, and, two days later, the infantry and artillery. 



Chapter VII. 

MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 

March to Brownsville, Arkansas, thence to Cape Girardeau, 
Missouri, up the Mississippi and Missouri, Rivers, into tin 
Interior of Missouri, Chase of Price — Attack on the Relict 
Rear-guard at Independence — Seventh Indiana Fu/h/s for tin 
Possession of a Cornfield, at Big Blue, and Wins — Battle 
of the Little Osage, Brilliant. Sabre Charge — Pursuit of Price 
to the Marmiton, Attacked etnd Driven Across the River, 
Retreats to the Arkarisas River — Cavalry Returns to St. 
Louis. 

The junction of the rebel forces, under Gen. Price and Gen. 
Shelby, at Batesville, Arkansas, about the middle of September, 
1S64, threatened both Little Rock, held by the federal Gen. 
Steele, and the State of Missouri. It is probable that the 
authorities at Memphis, believed Little Rock was the objective 
point of Price, for on the return of Gen. Smith to Memphis, the 
cavalry was ordered to Brownsville, Arkansas, and before it 
arrived there. Price revealed his intentions by starting north- 
ward toward Missouri. 

With an army of about fourteen thousand men, and a good 
supply of artillery, he entered the State of Missouri about the 
l2i2<l of September, on his last invasion, that proved disastrous 
both to his army and the rebel cause in Missouri. He marched 
to Bloomfield, thence to Pilot Knob. On the 2(Jth of September, 
he failed to carry the latter place by assault, but, by occupying 
Shepherd Mountain, he compelled Gen. Ewing to evacuate Fort 
lronton, near Pilot Knob. Gen. Ewing retreated to Harris 
Station, followed by Price. After marching to Rich wood's, and 
threatening St. Louis. Price started toward Jefferson City. 
tfel Stats savutoL 



126 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

A division of infantry under Gen. Mower, and the cavalry 
under Gen. Winslow, of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, crossed the 
Mississippi near Memphis, and began their march for Browns- 
ville, Arkansas. 

Five hundred men of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, under 
the command of Maj. S. E. W. Simonson, joined this expedition. 
The men supposed they were going on a five days' scout 
toward Little Rock, but they did not return to camp at 
Memphis, until they had marched over the greater part of 
Missouri, and into the Indian Territory in pursuit of Price. 

On the second day's march from the Mississippi, the com- 
mand crossed Black Fish Lake, on an old ferry, and bivouaccd 
on its west shore. This lake is about a mile in width and very 
deep. Col. Karge, in his hurry to cross his command, over- 
loaded the boat with men of the Second New Jersey, and when 
near the centre of the lake, the boat sunk, and twelve men and 
horses were drowned. Proceeding on the march, the command 
reached St. Francis river, where it expected to meet transports 
with supplies, but the river being low, they had not arrived. 
The supply of rations being nearly exhausted, the command 
pushed on rapidly. The march for the next two days was 
through a desolate country, that yielded nothing in the way of 
food for the men. At White river, some cattle that had been 
picked up on the line of march, were slaughtered and dis- 
tributed to the men, who had to eat the meat without salt. The 
command crossed the river at Clarendon in a steamboat, and 
marched to Brownsville, twenty-five miles from Little Rock, 
where it formed a junction with the army under Gen. Steele, 
and got supplies of rations and clothing. Gen. Steele, thus 
reinforced, started north in pursuit of Price. 

The cavalry under Col. Winslow, marched to Cape Girardeau, 
where it embarked on steamboats, sailed up the Mississippi, to 
the Missouri river, and up it, to Jefferson City, where it disenv 
- 'I 

Gen. Price, finding Jefferson City too strong for hiin to attaj k 
:>:d upon Boonville, op ; ouyj river. 



MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 127 

Gen. Pleasanton arrived from St. Louis and assumed command 
of the cavalry. He started Gen. Sanburn, reinforced by 
Winslow's cavalry, in pursuit. 

At Indep( ndence, Price's rear-guard was overtaken, and a 
skirmish ensued. The Seventh Indiana Cavalry was in the 
advance* and Lieut. William H. Crane, of company "F," had 
command of the extreme advance guard. On coming in sight of 
the enemy, Lieut. Crane ordered a charge, and put the 
rebels to flight, and captured a few prisoners. 
At the Big Blue, the Seventh Indiana Cavalry had a spirited 
fight with the rebels in a cornfield lor the forrage, in which 
the rebels lost heavily in killed, and were driven from the 
field. 

At Little Osage, Price crossed one of his divisions, and formed 
the rest of his army on the east side of the river, to oppose 
Pleasanton, who was in hot pursuit. 

The country was a large prairie. Every man in both armies 
was in plain view. Gen. Pleasanton formed his regiments for a 
charge. 

Winslow's brigade was formed in frnt of the key of Price's 
position, at the crossing of the river. 

At the command, six thousand sabres gleamed in the bright 
sunlight, and six thousand cavaliers swept down on the rebel 
lines, with irresistible power. They dashed through the lines, 
doing terrible execution with the sabre. Col. Winslow charged 
through the line in his front, wheeled, and charged it from the 
rear on coming back. The rebels, unable to witstand the onset, 
broke and fled to the river, the federals pursuing, and fighting 
them into, and across it. 

The rebels were cut from their horses with the sabres, or 
knocked into the river with revolvers. 

The Seventh Indiana was led in this battle by the interpid 
Maj. Simonson. The regiment captured two pieces of artillery, 
and three hundred prisoners. The brigade to which it was 
attached (Winslow's) captured five pieces of artillery, and a 



128 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

large number of prisoners. Price lost in this battle twenty-five 
pieces of artillery. 

His retreat now became a disorderly ilight. At the 
Marmiton river, he was overtaken, attacked, and driven across 
the river, losing a large number of prisoners. The Seventh 
Indiana, with Winslow's brigade, made two brilliant charges at 
that point. The pursuit continued into Indian Territory, when it 
was abandoned and the cavalry returned, a part of the Seventh 
Indiana to St. Louis, and a part to Louisville, Kentucky. 
Price retreated rapidly across the Arkansas river, shorn of his 
former prestige. In this brief but brilliant campaign, the 
detachment of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry participating, saw 
hard service. 

Leaving Memphis, it marched into the interior of Arkansas, 
thence to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, thence by water to the 
ulterior of the State, where it entered on an active chase of 
Price, traveled to the western border of the State, thence across 
the Marmiton into the Indian Territory, and returned to St. 
Louis, having traveled over a great part of the State of Missouri. 
It participated in three battles, and by its bravery added glory 
to its already proud reputation as a fighting regiment. It was 
complimented by Gen. Pleasanton, for its bravery and efficiency, 
and authorized by him to inscribe on its banners the names 
oi the battles of Independence, Big Blue and Osage. 

Gen. Pleasanton, not satisfied with the compliments he had 
already bestowed on Col. Winslow's brigade, issued the follow- 
ing complimentary order, which did not reach the regiments of 
the brigade until they had returned to Memphis: 

Head- Quarters Cavalry Division, \ 
Warren«burg, Mo., Nov. 3d, 1804. j 
General Order, \ 
No. 11. / 

Winslow's Brigade of Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Benteen, being about to leave for another department, 
the Major-General commanding takes this occasion, not only to 
express his regret in separating from such glorious troops, but 






MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 129 

also to recall more especially than was done in General Order, 
No. 6, from these Head-Quarters, the splendid manner in which 
this brigade fought at the Osage, capturing five pieces of 
artillery from the enemy, with a large number of prisoners, 
and carrying by a daring charge the most important and con- 
spicuous position on that brilliant field. 

No troops could win lor themselves a prouder record than 
they have done, and the best wishes of their commander in the 
late campaign will accompany them wherever their services may 
be required. 

By command of 

Major -General Fleasanton. 
Clifford Thompson, ) 

1st Lieut, and A. A. G. J 

The detachment of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, that re- 
mained at Memphis during the Missouri campaign, was con- 
stantly employed in performing picket duty, and in scouting 
in the neighborhood of the Nonconnah creek and Cold- 
water. It was under the command of Major Carpenter, who 
was untiring in his efforts to clothe, arm and equip his com- 
mand, it having become destitute of nearly everything, in its 
frequent and trying campaigns. 

It seems to have been reserved for the Seventh Indiana to 
accomplish results of incalculable benefit to the forces about 
Memphis. 

As already stated, the country around the Nonconnah creek 
was infested with guerrillas, under the command of the 
notorious "Dick Davis." This man was a blood-thirsty human 
monster. He lurked about the picket posts and shot the pickets. 
He lay in wait, in ambash in the thickets about the Nonconnah, 
for scouting parties, and poured deadly volleys into them, while 
he was protected by his concealed position. A brave man can 
fight without concern, as long as he can see an adversary to 
fight, but when the attack comes from an unsuspected quarter, 
and fiom an unseen foe, the highest order of courage is put to 
the severest test. It was understood that the guerrillas mur- 
dered all their prisoners; and with a secret dread, scouting parties 

14 



130 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

approached the Nonconnah. "Dick Davis" inspired inore fear 
than Forrest himself. 

On the 3d of October, Capt. Skelton, on returning after 
dark from a scout, and when about six miles from camp, lost 
some horses, that fell into a ravine. Owing to the darkness of 
Lhe night, and the steepness of the banks, they could not then 
be got out. In the morning, the Captain sent Corporal 
Archibald F. Inglish, with privates Charles Fennimore, Henry 
Gabler, Hiram Iseminger, Herman Kile, John L. Redding, 
Ashbury Putter, of Company "F," to recover the horses. Cor- 
poral Inglish stationed one man as a videtle, to watch in the 
direction of Coldwater, while the rest, laying aside their arms, 
.vent to work to get the horses out of the ravine. While thus 
employed, '"Dick Davis" with his men, coming from the direction 
of the federal camp, and who had probably watched them all the 
way the from the picket line, and knew full well their purpose in 
going out, when near them, with a fiendish yell, dashed upon, 
and surrounded them. Being taken by surprise, and unarmed, 
they could not offer the slightest resistance, and all were 
captured. Davis marched them rapidly to Coldwater creek, 
went up the stream a few hundred yards in the heavy timber, 
seated them in a row, on a log across the creek, and had them 
shot, their bodies falling into the stream. To render his 
cowardly act the consummation of wickedness, he fastened :i 
written warning over his own name, to a tree, threatening the 
same fate to any who should bury them. 

There is no doubt but this was the fate of these men. A few 
lays after the outrage, a young lady called on Maj. Carpenter, 
at his head-rpiarters, and gave such accurate description of them, 
that they were readily identified as the missing persons, 
besides, she had letters taken from their bodies, that established 
their identity beyond a doubt. Capt. Skelton had a cousin, 
a Mrs. Jennie Smith, who resided at Oockrum's-cross-roads, a 
few miles from Coldwater, who visited the bodies, and caused 
them to be taken out of the wafer and buried. She gave the 
Captain Buch an accurate description oi them, thai he recognized 



MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 131 

all as being the members of his company sent alter the horses. 

The manner of their death, the Author learned from two ol 
the band, who were present at the shooting, whom he captured 
a few miles from Cockrum'scross-roads, while on a scout in that 
direction, in the summer of 1865. 

The Author had command of the advance guard. Several 
prisoners had been captured during the day. In the afternoon 
quite a force formed in line across the road on the crest of a 
hill. The advance guard was ordered to charge. The guerrillas 
did not wait for the advance to close with them, but broke and 
scattered in all directions in the woods. The guard dashed 
after them and succeeded in capturing two prisoners. 

While marching along the road, the advance met a negro, 
who well knew the prisoners, and that they belonged to 
"Dick Davis's" band. He told who they were, and that they 
were concerned in the murder, not far from there, of seven 
soldiers. 

The prisoners at first pretended not to know the negro, and 
denounced his story as false. The Author had the negro con- 
front them and make his statement. He told all about them in 
such a straight-forward and convincing manner, that they did 
not dare to dispute him, and when he said there would be 
plenty of people at Cockrum's, to corroborate him, they held 
out no longer, confessed to being members of Davis's band ol 
guerrillas, and to being present at the shooting of the members 
of company "F." 

At that time it was reported„that the secretary of war had 
issued an order, that all persons captured with arms, should be 
deemed guerrillas, and should be shot. Although the Authui 
had not seen it, yet he believed such an order existed, and 
determined tu execute these men. The advance went into 
camp that night at Oockrum's-cross-roads, where further evi- 
dence was found against the prisoners. The Author had prepar- 
ations made to hang them, the end of a rope was placed around 
a limb of a tree, and one of the prisoners mounted on a horse 



132 



SEVENTH 1NL1ANA CAVALRY. 



under it, but still he disliked to assume the responsibility, and 
while hesitating what to do, Capt. Skelton arrived, who being 
the superior officer, the Author was relieved of the disagreeable 
duty. The Captain, after hearing all the facts, decided that the 
lives of the prisoners were forfeited under the rules of war, but 
concluded to defer the executions till morning. 

During the night Col. Phelps, commander of the expedition 
arrived, to whom Capt. Skelton communicated the facts. The 
Colonel also concurred in the opinion that they ought to suffer 
death. He, however, decided to have them tried by a drum- 
head court-martial on the return of the expedition to caaip. 
The prisoners were taken to the farm houses along the rout for 
their meals. When being taken to dinner, across a slightly 
wooded field they attempted to escape. The guards fired on 
them and returned without them, reporting that they had es- 
caped. One of the guard had been a mess- mate and particular 
iriend of one of the men murdered by the band to which these 
men belonged, and had often been heard to declare that if he 
ever came across any of the band, he would kill some of them if 
in his power to do so. It is probable that retributive justice 
overtook the assassins and robbers. 

The seven men not returning as soon as they should, Gapt. 
Skelton and Maj. Carpenter grew alarmed for their safety, and 
by order of the latter, the former took fifty men and proceeded 
in quest of them. At the Coldwater he learned that Dick Davis 
had captured them and was taking them in the direction of 
Holly Springs. Capt. Skelton believed from this that his men 
would be treated as prisoners of war, and it being impossible to 
overtake Davis, returned to camp. 

A few; days after their capture, Capt. Skelton, with company 
F, was scouting near Coldwater, and came upon a small body of 
Guerrillas, several were captured. The Captain saw two of 
them running from a house to the woods. He dashed after 
them alone, and captured them, one of whom proved to be 
■' Dick Davis " himself. The full particulars of hi.-: capture will 



MISSOURI CAMPAIGN. 133 

be given in the biographical sketch of Maj. Skelton ; and lust rial, 
conviction by court-martial, and execution, in a chapter devoted 
to that subject. 

In the latter part of October, 1864, Capt. Skelton, with a 
scouting party of about twenty men, early in the morning, while 
it was yet quite dark, ran into an ambuscade at the crossing of 
the Nonconnah creek. The first intimation he had of the pres- 
ence of a foe, was a volley fired into his ranks about fifteen or 
twenty feet distant, from behind the railroad embankment. 
Two of his men were killed, three or four wounded, and two 
captured and shot not far from their place of capture, and left 
for dead. One of them lived till the relieving party arrived, 
and told of his being shot after he had surrendered. 

Capt. Skelton did all he could to rally his men, and charged 
alone in the direction of the fire, but the men dispersed and the 
Captain was left alone. Some of them returned to camp with 
information of the attack. The author was ordered to take 
fifty men and go to the assistance of Capt,. Skelton. 

The men hastily mounted their horses, and left camp on the 
gallop. The news spread rapidly through the regiment, and 
the ment without orders, saddled and mounted their horses, and 
before the relieving party had gone two miles, nearly the entire 
regiment was following. 

Capt. Skelton was met about half a mile from the ambuscade, 
all alone, determined not to return till he learned the fate of 
his men. The relieving party dispersed in all directions in the 
woods for miles around, to find the Guerrillas, but so perfect was 
their mode of dispersing, that not one of them could be found. 

The Guerrillas were sometimes beaten at their own game, as 
the following incident will show : On one of the roads leading 
out of Memphis was a picket post, so situated, that the pickets 
stationed at it, were an easy target to the Guerrillas who crept 
through the brush within ten rods of them and picked them off, 
This occurred so often, the men were afraid to be stationed at 
that point. Corporal Adam II. Shoemaker cf company F, was 



134 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

detailed for picket duly, and placed at thai post. The Corporal 
knowing that two or three times a week a picket was killed there, 
took the responsibility of moving the post into a yard near a 
large house but a few yards distant, where the picket could 
watch as well, and at the same time be concealed. Early the 
next morning before daylight, the Corporal, who was on the 
alert, heard a rustling in the leaves and bushes on the opposite 
side of the road. Grasping his carbine and laying flat on the 
ground, he peered in the direction of the noise, when presently 
he saw a man with a gun crawling stealthily on his hands and 
knees, and looking in the direction of the fatal post. The Cor- 
poral crawled on his belly a short distance to get in a p6sition 
to get good aim, when he drew a bead on the Guerrilla and fired. 
Immediately on the discharge of the carbine, about a dozen 
mounted Guerrillas dashed up from a bend in the road, to the 
old post, undoubtedly believing the shot they heard was fired 
by their comrade with the usual fatal effect, and intending to 
capture the reserves before they could form, as they had fre- 
quently done before. But the reserves were wide awake, and 
when the Guerrillas made their appearand, gave them a volley 
from their carbines, a change in the programme the Guerrillas 
were not expecting. They broke and fled in wild dismay. Cor- 
poral Shoemaker crossed the road to the object he fired at, and 
found a mortally wounded Guerrilla officer, who lived long 
enough to make it known that he was the successor to "Dick 
Davis." It seems to have been reserved by fate for company F 
to avenge the death of its seven members, murdered by this 
band of Guerrillas. The joke was this time on the Guerrillas, 
who took it so seriously, that they never again disturbed that 
picket post. 

The Presidential election was approaching, and if was deem- 
ed as important to win a victory for the Union at the pulls as in 
the field. As many of the regiment as could be spared, were 
given a ten days furlough to go to Indiana and vote. To prevent 
this the rebels grew very active, and were continually threatening 






MISSOUEI CAMPAIGN. 135 

the lines. This caused the forces at Memphis to be constantly on 
the alert, and to perform arduous picket and patrole duty. 

The regiments were formed in line of battle every morning 
before daylight, and remained in line till after sunrise, to be 
ready for any possible attack, and to guard against surprises. 

After election, affairs about Memphis assumed their usual as- 
pect. 

About Christmas, Gen. Grierson began preparing to make an- 
other of his famous raids into Mississippi, in which the 7th In- 
diana took a conspicuous part, an account of which will be giv- 
en in the next chapter. 



Chapter VIll. 

QRIERSON'S RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI; 

Gen. Grierson marches to Harrisburg — Capt. Elliott, with the 
1th Indiana Cavalry, captures Verona, a large number of pris- 
oners, and destroys a large quantity of rebel army stores — Rail- 
road and bridges dest/oyed — Gen. Grierson captures a rebel 
stockade and its garrison at Egypt, rebel Gen. Gohlson killed — 
Chases a railroad train and captures a large number of cars, 
and rebel prisoners — Tears tip the track and prevents the arriv- 
al of rebel reinforcements — Capt. Elliott, with one hundred men, 
attacks three hundred rebels — Capt. Beckwith captives Banks- 
ton and burns a cloth and leather factory, surprise of the super- 
intendent of the works — Capture of hogs — Col. Osborn defeats 
the rebels at Franklin — Grenada captured — Arrival at Vieks- 
burg and enthusiastic reception — Capt. Moor's expedition into 
Arkansas — Capt iSkelton captures three prisoners — Breakfact 
in the rebel camp. 

In December, 1S64, the rebel Gen. Hood marched his army in 
proud defiance, to Nashville, Tennessee, where he encountered 
that sturdy warrior, Gen. Geo. H. Thomas, and his army of vet- 
erans. In the battle there on the 15th, Hood sustained a ter- 
rible defeat, that sent his broken columns flying in dismay to- 
wards the Tennessee river. At different points on the Mobile 
and Ohio railroad were collected supplies for Hoods army, and 
trains were constantly transporting more from the interior of 
Mississippi. 

(Jen. Grierson organized a cavalry force at Memphis, to destroy 
the Mobile and Ohio railroad, to prevent the transportation of 
supplies to Hood's army, and to capture and destroy the supplies 
acpumulating at Verona, Okolona and Egypt on that railroad. 
Hi forces, numbering in the aggregate three thousand three 
hundred men, composed three brigades of cavalry. The 1st 
commanded by Col. Joseph Karge of the 2d New Jersey cavalry, 






GRIERSON S RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 137 

was composed of the 2d New Jersey, 4th Missouri and a detach- 
ment of one hundred and sixty men and seven officers of the 7th 
Indiana cavalry, under the command of Capt, Joel H. Elliott, 
of company "M," and the First Mississippi Mounted Rifles. The 
detachment of the Seventh Indiana, was divided into three 
squadrons, commanded respectively by Capt. Joseph W. Skelton, 
Capt. B. F. Bales and Lieut. John F. Duinont. The 2d brigade, 
commanded by Col. Winslow of the 4th Iowa, was composed of 
the 3d and 4th Iowa, and 10th Missouri regiments. The 3d 
brigade, commanded by Col. Osborn, composed of the 4th and 
11th Illinois, 2d Wisconsin and 3d U. S. colored, and a Pioneer 
corps of fifty men commanded by Lieut. Lewis, of the 7th In- 
diana cavalry. 

Ten day rations and the extra ammunition were transported 
on pack mules. On the 21st of December, Gen. Grierson with 
the 2d and 3d brigades, took a south-eastwardly direction from 
Collierville, and proceeded to Ripley, Mississippi, arriving there 
at noon on the 24th, without interruption. At that place, a de- 
tachment of one hundred and fifty men were sent to Boonville 
to cut the Mobile and Ohio railroad at that point, and having done 
so rejoined the main command at Ellistown, twenty-five miles 
south of Ripley; and a detachment of two hundred men went to 
Guntown on the railroad, and rejoined the command at Ellis- 
town. 

The First Brigade proceeded along the Memphis and Charles- 
ton railroad to Lagrange, Tenn., where it left the railroad, pass- 
ed through Lamar and Salem, Miss., to Harrisburg, arriving at 
the latter place on the evening of the 25th of December. After 
a brief rest it proceeded in the direction of Verona on the Mo- 
bile and Ohio railroad. After having gone about four miles, the 
advance met the enemy, who fired upon it and then retreated. 
After pursuing them about a mile, the brigade halted and the 
7th Indiana was ordered forward to reconnoiter and capture 
their camp. The detachment of Capt. Skelton had the advance 
during that day, and had captured many prisoners, who repre- 

15 



138 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVAI.KY. 

santed that the rebel force at Verona was from three thousand 
to seven thousand men. It was raining and the night very dark. 
The detachment run into an ambuscade and was fired upon, but 
owing to the extreme darkness, no harm was done. Gen. Grier- 
son had arrived with the other brigade and decided to camp for 
the night with the main force, but ordered Col. Karge to move 
forward as far as he could with his brigade. The Colonel pro- 
ceeded about three miles and concluded to camp till morning, 
but ordered Oapt. Elliott to advance as far as he could with the 
7th Indiana. An Aid of Col. Karge, questioning the proprie- 
ty of sending the 7th Indiana forward alone, the Colonel, who 
was a German, showed his confidence in the regiment by ex- 
claiming: "Mein Got, when the. 7th Indiana comes bark, wes all 
come back." Capt. Elliott had proceeded but a mile and a half 
when suddenly there burst forth in front of. his detachment a 
solid sheet of flame from the muskets of the rebels. It was so 
unexpected, that the men were thrown into nonfusion, and fell back 
in disorder about two hundred yards, when they were halted 
and reformed, and again moved forward. They had gone but 
about half a mile when they were fired into again. Capt. Skel- 
ton, who commanded the advance guard, ordered a charge, and 
the men dashed forward into a (dump of black-jack oaks, the 
road at that point making an abrupt turn to the left towards the 
town. Nothing more serious resulted from the charge, than the 
loss of some hats and a few scratched faces. 

Capt. Skelton then rode back to Capt. Elliott for instructions. 
The latter was undecided what tc do, and asked the former, as 
the second in command, what course to pursue. Capt. Skelton, 
who was always ready for emergencies, advised Capt. Elliott to 
dismount the rear guard, without letting the resl of the com- 
mand know it, and send them across a field to make a feigned, at- 
tack on the enemy's left" , by discharging their revolvers, whoop- 
ing, yelling, and making all the noise they could. 

Capt. Elliott, liked the plan, but still thought there was a pos- 
sibility of it failing. He however, told Capt. Skelton if he 



geiersqn's RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 130 

would assume all the responsibility incase of a failure, be would 
give biin permission to try it. Capt. Skelton readily agreed to 
do so, and accordingly, sent Serg't Grey with eight men to make 
the feigned attack. The Sergeant executed his orders to the let- 
ter, and when his ptrty commenced firing, the rest of the. com- 
mand, led by Capt. Skelton charged with yells down the road 
towards the town. The rebels supposing that Grierson's entire 
force was upon them, abandoned their camp, of which the 7th 
Indiana took possession, and also of the town. Capt. Skelton 
wanted the rest of the command to believe that the attack- <m 
the left was made by Gen. Gnerson, bo thi j y would readily obey 
the order to charge when given. While pondering how he could 
best accomplish that purpose, a Lieutenant rode up to him and 
said, "Captain, don't you think we have got into a hell of a tight 
place?'' The Captain ordered him back to his place, saying he 
would hear something on the left pretty soon. The Lieutenant 
asked him if Gen. Grierson was advancing from that direction, 
and the Captain said yes. It was whispered through the ranks 
that Grierson was coming up on the left. When the firing com- 
menced in that direction, the men believing reinforcements had 
come up, cheerfully obeyed the command to "charge." A pris- 
oner reported their numbers at seven hundred, two hundred of 
whom were old soldiers, and the remainder conscripts. 

A large amount of Quartermaster and Commissary stores, 
four hundred and fifty new English carbines and rifles, a large 
amount of artillery ammunition, a train of fifty cars, and two 
hundred and fifty wagons were captured. The most of the wag- 
ons were the same captured from Gen. Sturges, in June, 1864, 
at the battle of Brices cross-roads. Col. Karge, learning of the 
capture of Verona, marched the rest of the brigade to that place 
and ordered the buildings containing army stores to be fired. 
All of the buildings except two or three, contained stores for the 
rebel army, and all except three were burned. The wagons were 
placed beside the buildings and destroyed with them. The 
ihellS) when the fire reached fh^m, began exploding) the noisi? 



1 10 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

of which sounded like a furious cannonading. Gen. Grierson, 
several miles distant, hearing it, and believing Col. Karge was 
engaged with the enemy, formed and kept the other brigades in 
line of battle till morning, when he moved to the town and 
learned the real state of facts. 

After burning all the Confederate Government property, ami 
destroying the railroad for several miles, Grierson, with his 
entire force, returned to Harrisburg. 

While Col. Karge was moving on Verona, Lieut. -Col. Funk, 
with the Eleventh Illinois, went to Old Town, and burned the 
bridge and a long trestle-work over the creek.. 

On the morning of the 26th, Gen. Grierson marched from 
Harrisburg for Okolona, the Third Brigade following the rail- 
road, burning the bridges and trestle-work, and tearing up the 
track, and cutting the telegraph wires, to Shannon, where it 
captured a train of c;.rs, containing one hundred new wagons, 
and a large quantity of cpiarter-masters' and commissary stores, 
intended for Forrest's army, all of which were burned. The 
First and Third Brigades took the usual road to Okolona, crossed 
the Tombigbee river at night and camped near it. 

At Shannon, the Third Brigade was relieved by the Second, 
which proceeded along the railroad, destroying it as they 
went; while the other brigades, following the public road, 
passed through Okolona, and camped four miles beyond at 
Chawappa creek. 

At Okolona a small body of rebels were encountered and 
some skirmishing ensued, in which the rebels were compelled to 
retire. 

A messenger was captured wir.h a dispatch to the commander 
of the post, stating that he would be reinforced by thirteen 
hundred infantry from Mobile. A telegraph operator, accom- 
panying the expedition, cut the wire, aud applying a. small 
instrument, intercepted dispatches from General Dick Taylor 
and Maj. -Gen. Gardiner, to the commanding officer at Egypl 
n, ord ring him to hold thai posl :<t every hazard. 



grierson's raid through Mississippi. 141 

Gen. Grierson rightly conjectured from the dispatches, that 
reinforcements were being harried forward to that point, and 
early on the morning of the 28th, marched rapidly toward 
Egypt, where he opportunely arrived, and captured a rebel 
stockade just as a train with the expected reinforcements came in 
sight. It devolved on the First Brigade, it being in the 
advance, to capture the stockade. 

The Second New Jersey was formed in front, and the Seventh 
Indiana in its rear in supporting distance, with orders to shout 
down any officer, or man, who attempted to run. The Second 
New Jersey moved toward the stockade, and when at short 
range, the rebels opened a severe fire on them. Thev halted, 
afraid both to advance or retreat, and fur a brief time they 
sat on their horses, helpless targets for the rebels to shoot at. 
An aid of Gen. Grierson rode up, and ordered them to 
dismount, which they did, and led by the Aid, charged on the 
stockade. 

The officers in command of it, seeing that reinforcements were 
cut off, surrendered. 

When the attack on the stockade commenced, there was a 
train of fourteen cars, and a platform car with four pieces of 
artillery, that had come from the north, standing on the track. 
There were indications that it was about to move. Gen. 
Grierson, taking the Seventh Indiana and Fourth Missouri, 
charged upon it, and pressed it so closely, that the engineer 
was compelled to detach the fourteen cars, and make his escape 
with the locomotive and platform car of artillery. 

Lieut. Diiraont, with his squadron, by order of Capt. Elliott, 
burned the detached cars, that were heavily loaded with 
clothing and other army supplies, and pursued and captured the 
rebels who were attempting to escape from them to the woods. 

The detachments of the Seventh Indiana and Fourth Missouri, 
led by Capt. S. L. Woodward, Gen. Grierson's Adjutant-General, 
pursued the retreating locomotive and artillery; the latter 
throwing shells, which were replied to by the carbines and. 
jrftv^lvers of the former. 



142 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

After an exciting chase of about a mile, ':\\o trains of car?, 
loaded with reinforcements under General Gardiner, were Been 
approaching from the south, the fugitive engine and artillery 
from the first train, hacking up in front of them. Capt. 
Woodward was ordered to tear up the track, to prevent the 
approach of the trains. There was nothing with which to 
obstruct the road, and the hatchets carried by the men woe 
not sufficient to break the spikes, Capt. Skelton, therefore, 
ordered all the men to get on one side of the track, and taking 
hold of the rails, succeeded in wrenching a portion of it loose, and 
threw it off the embankment, just as the train with reinforce- 
ments came up. 

The rebels got off the train, and firmed, behind a fence, in a 
cornfield. 

Capt. Skelton was sent forward with a skirmish line to ascer- 
tain their numbers. As he was advancing, the rebels opened a 
brisk fire on his lines. 

One of his men had a part of the brim of his cap shot off. He 
cooly took it off, and holding it up, said, "that was pretty d — m 
close." Another man, hearing the remark, and having his hat- 
band shot oil", held up his hat and said, " that is a d — m sight 
closer - " 

Capt. Skelton reportel that the rebels were at least three 
hundred strong. The two detachments of the Seventh Indiana 
and Fourth Missouri participating in the attack', numbered but 
one hundred men. Notwithstanding, Capt. Elliott ordered a 
charge. After proceeding but a short distance, Capt. Henky, of 
the Fourth Missouri, fell, when it was discovered that there 
a ditch in front of the rebels, which rendered it impossible 
to proceed further. The rebels opened a severe fire, and killed 
two men of the Seventh Indiana, and shot down twenty-eight 
horses. Capt. Elliott then withdrew his command, and 
d'l in getting away all of the wounded and dismounted 
men. 

i .1 ■,. Lgig ..i M,. - ^nth in the &ffair ( wan twc 



GRIERSOX's EAIt) THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. I 1 ! 

killed, eleven wounded, and twenty-eight horses killed and 
disabled. 

The squadron of Lieut. Dumont burned a train, and captured 
forty -seven prisoners, among them a Lieut. -Colonel. 

Gen. Grierson, in this engagement, captured a stockade and 
its garrison, numbering eight hundred men. Brig-Gen. 
Gohlston, the commander of the post, was killed, also a Colonel, 
whose name was not learned. The federal loss was fifteen 
killed, and seventy wounded. 

Gen. Grierson, before leaving Egypt, cut the telegraph wire, 
and sent false dispatches, that caused the rebels to send troops 
to points he did not intend to visit. 

After burying the dead, and making provisions for the care of 
the wounded, who could not be taken along, the entire command 
lett Egypt on the same day of the engagement, marched west- 
ward, and camped for the night near Houstan. 

On the morning of the 29th, Gen. Grierson dispatched a 
detachment in the direction of Pontotoc, and another toward 
AVest Point, on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, for the purpose of 
deceiving the rebels as to the real course he intended to take. 

On the return of the detachments, the Seventh Indiana 
burned the bridge across the Hulka river, and the entire com- 
mand taking a south-westwardly diiection, toward the Memphis 
and Jackson railroad, camped that night at Hohenlinden. 

Early on the morning of the 30th, the command continued its 
march, and camped at night at Bellefontain. 

During the day, a wretch by the name of Capt. Tom Ford, 
whose business for two years had been to hunt down Union men 
with blood hounds, was captured, and confessed to having hung 
several Union men. He managed to escape from the guards. 

From Bellefontain a detachment was sent in the direction of 
Starksville to threaten the Mobile and Ohio railroad, and Capt. 
Beckwith, of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, with one hundred and 
fifty men, went to Bankston, arriving there at midnight, and 
taking the inhabitants completely by surprise. 



144 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

At this place the rebel government had a laige cloth and 
leather manufactory, that gave employment to five hundred 
men. This factory turned out one thousand yards of cloth and 
two thousand pairs of shoes, daily. Its destruction would 
materially affect the resources of the rebel government. The 
torch was applied, and the establishment, with a large 
amount of cloths and shoes, destroyed. The following anecdote 
will show how completely the town was taken by surprise: 
After the factory had been fired, the superintendent of the 
works made his appearance in night attire, and seeing the 
soldiers sitting around and making no effort to stop the con- 
flagration, and taking them to be the operatives, he threatened 
to arrest the night watches, and wanted to know r "why in h — 4 
they made no effort to stop the fire." Capt. Beckwith, seeing 
his mistake, quietly remarked, that as it was a cold night, he 
thought he would have a little fire. "H — 1 and damnation," 
exclaimed the superintendent, in a towering rage, "would you 
burn the factory to make a fire to warm by?" Then, for the 
first time, noticing the Captain's uniform, and that the supposed 
operatives were armed men, the face that the "Yanks" had 
arrived, broke on his mind, and his utter amazement on making 
the discovery, was as comical to witness, as it had been a 
moment before to see his anger. 

On the 31st, at \) o'clock in the morning, Capt. Beckwith 
rejoined the main column, that had been on the march since 
G o'clock in the morning. 

At 11 o'clock in the forenoon, the command reached Lodi. 
At that place two thousand bushels of wheat were burned, 
and eight hundred and ninety fat hogs, intended for 
Hood's army, were captured. They were driven in front of the 
army for several miles, and were the occasion for an infinite 
variety of jests and remarks, in which Gen. Grierson partici- 
pated. It being found that they impeded the match, they were 
driven into a large pen, constructed for the purpose, and killed 
by the men with their sabres. Kails were piled on them 
and sel on lire. 



gpjerson's RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 145 

Col. Karge, with the First Brigade, preceding the maiu 
column, reached Winona, on the Memphis and Jackson railroad, 
where he cut the telegraph and intercepted a dispatch, making 
inquiries respecting the movements of Wirt Adams, at Canton. 

From Winona, the entire command, excepting the Third 
Iowa Cavalry, marched to Middletown and camped. 

The Third Iowa, commanded by Col. Noble, went north to 
Grenada, with orders to destroy all the rebel government 
property at that place, and rejoin the command at Benton. 

On New Year's Day, LSlio, the main column marched south 
on the Benton road, and camped at night at Lexington, while 
the Third Brigade moved down the railroad, with orders to 
destroy it, burn tin 1 bridges, and rejoin the command at 
Benton. 

On the 2d of January, Gen. Grierson passed through Lexing- 
ton and took the road to Ebene/.er, through which place he 
passed at noon. Some skirmishing occurred in his front, in 
which a rebel Lieut, was captured, who stated that there was a 
rebel force of eleven thousand men at Benton, awaiting Gen. 
Grierson's approach. This information served only to quicken 
Grierson's march for that place, which he reached at six o'clock 
in the evening without opposition, and found that the place was 
not occupied by the rebels. 

The Third Brigade destroyed the railroad as far as Goodman 'a, 
from which place it marched to Franklin, where it encountered 
six hundred of Wirt Adams's cavalry, under Col. Woods. A 
spirited fight occurred, in which the rebels were defeated, and 
retired, leaving on the field twenty-five killed, among them a 
Major and a Captain, and twenty prisoners. The loss of Col. 
Osborn (Commander of the Third Brigade) was five killed and 
fourteen wounded. After the engagement, Colonel Osboru 
continued his march, and reached the main command at Benton, 
at ten o'clock at night. 

Col. Noble had been equally successful in his march on 
Grenada. He destroyed twenty-five miles of railroad, dashed 

16 



140 seventh Indiana cavalry. 

Into the town, taking it completely by surprise, captured and 
destroyed fourteen engines and a large machine shop, set fire to 
several buildings containing quarter-masters' and commissary 
stores, twenty cases of Enfield rifles, intended for the arming of 
the malitia, and a large amount of fixed ammunition. The Col. 
visited the printing office of the " Greanada Picket/' and 
glancing over the columns of the previous day's issue, read an 
article, stating that Grierson's army had been defeated on the 
-Mobile and Ohio railroad, and his columns were Hying in dismay 
back 10 Memphis. The Colonel ordered the establishment to be 
burned. He then joined Gen Grierson, in safety, at Benton. 

On the 3d, Gen. Grierson marched to Mechanicsburg, arriving 
there at dark. 

On the 4th, he reached Clear creek, at live o. clock in the 
afternoon. 

Here, at sundown, the evening gun at Vicksburg, was heard, 
and elicited from the weary command hearty cheers. At this 
point, the c< mmand was met, pursuant to request of Gen. 
Grierson, sent by a couple of scouts a day or two before, with 
rations and forage from Vicksburg. 

The next day, the command matched through a cold, drenching 
rain, to Vicksburg, arriving there about two o'clock in the after- 
noon, where it was welcomed by hearty cheers from thousands 
of persons gathered by the road-side, who had heard of its safe 
arrival. 

Thus terminated one of the most successful raids of the 
war. The damage done to the rebels by destroying their 
supplies was incalculable, and contributed materially to the dis- 
memberment of Hood's army. 

Gen. Grierson displayed military talent of a high order. He 
moved rapidly, and by having portions of his command appear 
at different points at the same time, so confused the rebels, that 
they did not know where to concentrate against him. 

At Brice's-cross-roads, with dismounted cavalry he resisted 
infantry; but in this expedition, lie accomplished feats with 



grierson's RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 147 

cavalry, in charging and capturing a stockade, heavily gar- 
risoned, and in chasing away railroad trains, with large 
reinforcements, the possibilities of which had never been 
dreamed. 

His marching was so rapid, that he frequently reached places in 
advance of rebel couriers carrying information of his move- 
ments. At other times, messengers had but given information of 
his approach, when his columns would be charging through the 
town. His humane treatment of his prisoners was equal to his 
courage. He compelled rebel citizens to contribute clothing 
and blankets, to protect them from the inclemency of I In 1 
weather. 

In this raid, the Seventh Indiana bore an honorable part, and 
was complimented by Gen. Grierson for its bravery and 
efficiency. 

On the 8th of January, the squadrons of Captains Skelton and 
B.^F. Bales left Vicksburg on transports, and reached Memphis 
on the 10th. The remainder of the detachment left on the 10th 
by steamboats, and arrived at Memphis on the 12th of 
January. 

The guerrillas were getting troublesome on the west bank of 
the Mississippi, in Arkansas. The rebel Colonel, McGee, had 
quite a force at Mound City. 

The commanding officer at Memphis determined to break up 
the rendezvous at that place. 

Accordingly, Capt. Moore, of the Seventh Indian Cavalry, in 
command of detachments from the Seventh Indiana, First 
Mississippi Rifles and Second Wisconsin Cavalry, numbering in 
all two hundred men. pursuant to orders, embarked on a steam- 
boat, a little below Fort Pickering, on the evening of the 2Uth 
of January, and steamed down the river a few miles, when the 
boat put about, passed Memphis and went up the river several 
miles, and stopped on the Arkansas side of the river. 

A+ day-break the next morning, the cempiand disembarked 
and marched for Mound City, 



14S SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

Capt. Skelton, who accompanied the expedition voluntarily, 
or, to use his own language, "just for fun," touk command of 
the advance guard. 

The advance was dressed in rebel uniforms, and on arriving 
at Mound City, dashed through the town, yelling, "Yanks! 
Yanks ! " 

When a mile or so from the town, they slackened their speed 
to a slow walk. They were soon overtaken by rebels from the 
town, who were pretending to be citizens, and believing Capt. 
Skelton and his men to be genuine rebels, had no hesitancy in 
coming up with them. As they did so, in squads of three or 
four, they were captured and their concealed revolvers taken 
from them. In this manner thirty prisoners were taken. 

From the prisoners, Capt. Skelton learned the location of the 
rebel camp at Marion. Sending his pri -oners to the main com- 
mand, he pushed on rapidly toward that place, and Boon 
arrived at their camp without being discovered. He galloped 
hack to Capt. Moore and asked for twenty additional men, with 
which to charge the rebels. This was refused. Capt, Skelton 
then asked for ten men. and that also, was refused. ('apt. 
Moore then gave command for his force to form in line, in ro 
loud a voice that the rebels heard it; and that was the first inti- 
mation they had of the presence of an enemy. 

Capt. Moore, although a brave man, and a good officer, lacked 
t/ie dash, so essential to the successful operations of cavalry, 
but which was possessed in so high a degree by Capt. Skelton. 

The latter, disgusted with the course of Capt. Moore, dashed 
back to the advance guard, and with only ten men, boldly 
charged into the enemy's camp. The rebels, thrown into the 
greatest confusion by their complete surprise, broke and lied in 
all directions, Capt. Skelton and his men hotly pursuing. The 
Skelton, after following a squad af five rebels for a mile, found 
pursuers and the pursued, in the chase, got separated. Capt. 
Skelton after following a squad of five ]-pbels for a mile found 
none of his m/m with him hut "Jimmy" GrardiCm;, as ho 



grierson's RAID THROUGH MISSISSIPPI. 149 

called, a small boy of fifteen years of age, bat with courage 
equal to any man. His full name was James Wier Graydon. 
The rebels separated into two squads, three going in one 
direction and two in another. Capt, Skelton followed the three, 
and "Jimmy" the two. The mud and water thrown by the 
horses in the mad chase through a swamp, almost concealed the 
riders from view. The horse of one of the rebels, that Capt. 
Skelton was pursuing, stumbled and fell, and threw its rider 
completely under the mud and water. This one proved to be a 
rebel pay-master, with a large amount of money. Capt. Skelton 
kept on after the other two, who stopped and surrendered after 
going a short distance further. The Captain disarmed his 
prisoners, before they discovered that he was alone, and took 
them back to the pay-master, who was emerging from the mud 
and water. The latter, seeing the Captain was alone, started to 
run, but an ominous movement of the Captain's arm, decided him 
to surrender. After going a short distance, one of the prisoners 
asked Captain Skelton where his men were. The Captain re- 
plied that he saw all there were. "Hell!" exclaimed the 
prisoner, " I thought the woods were full of Yanks." After 
traveling about, a mile, Captain Skelton met Jimmy Graydon, 
coming through the woods, crying, because, by firing his revolv- 
er at too long a range, he had allowed the rebels lie was pur- 
suing, to escape. The disappointment of not getting them 
vexed him sorely. 

Capt. Moore's command took possession of the rebel camp and 
partook of breakfast, already prepared, when the rebels were so 
unceremoniously driven from it. The exercise of the morning 
gave the men a good appetite, and their relish for the breakfast 
was not lessened by the variety of jokes cracked at the expense 
of the " Johnnies.'' 

After destroying the rebel government property, the com- 
mand returned to Memphis, haying been eminently successful. 



Chapter IX. 



L'JUI-TANA EXPEMTION. 



The. Expedition goes down the Mississippi River to Grand Lake 
— March Through the Sivamps to Bastrop, La. — Negroes 
Flock to the Command, and Perish of the Cold — A Negro 
Mother Throw* away her Child — /Sufferings of the Soldiers 
— March to Hamburg, and Gains Landing — Return to 
Memphis. 

In a few days after the return of the regiment from the 
expedition mentioned in the last chapter, another cavalry ex- 
pedition was fitted out at Memphis, and placed under the com- 
mand of Col. Osborn. It consisted of detachments from the 
regiments of two brigades. 

The First Brigade, including five hundred men'of the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, under the command of Major S. E. W. 
Simonson, was commanded by Colonel J. P. C. Shanks. 

On the 26th of January, 1865, the expedition embarked at 
Memphis, on transports, and steamed down the Mississippi 
river. It disembarked a few miles above Grand Lake, 
Arkansas. 

The extra rations and ammunition were strapped on Pack 
mules, and everything being in readiness, the command started 
toward the interior over the low, flat country. 

On the first day's march, it, reached a small stream. It was 

reported that the crossing there was held by a considerable 

force of rebels. To surprise and capture them, the column 

bed from the road through th*> timber and advanced 

■ d th* crossing, vrith extreme caution, and after an almost 

thless march °f a mile, the iih Indiana having the advance 






LOUISIANA EXPEDITION. 151 

arrived at tlie stream in time to see two men on the opposite 
side gallop away. 

The stream was crossed by means of an old rickety ferry, 
which was on the opposite bank. A negro, soon appearing at 
the ferry, in obedience to orders, brought it across. 

When the crossing was effected, the command pursued its 
march through a dreary, uninhabited country to Bastrop, 
Louisiana. From that place it marched north, crossed Bayou 
Bartholomew, and went to Hamburg, in Arkansas. Between 
these points the country was execrable. Human beings could 
not and did not inhabit it, except in an occasionally dry spot. 
It was given over by Nature, and Nature's God, for habitation, 
to frogs, lizzards, snakes and alligators. In such a country it 
was impossible to get subsistence for man or beast. Nearly all 
of the extra rations transported on the pack mules, were lost 
with those animals, as they sank out of sight in the mud and 
water of the swamps. The ammunition was lost in the same 
way. But that did not amount to anything as there was no 
enemy to use it on. It was pitiable to see the poor animals try 
to extricate themselves while they were all the time sinking 
deeper in the mire. They would cast appealing looks at the 
men and utter piteous groans. 

At Hamburg the country was better. Some forage for the 
horses and food for the men were obtained. At this point the 
negroes began Hocking from the plantations, to the command, 
and as it advanced, hundreds of them were following in the rear 
and on the flanks. They were half clad wretches, indeed, many 
of them were almost entirely destitute of clothing. Men, wo- 
men, and children, without a moment's consideration or prepa- 
ration, left their huts and the plantations, and followed the com- 
mand not knowing where they were going, or what they were to 
do. They were of the most ignorant and degraded of their race. 
Having lived all their lives in a God-forsaken country, they had 
not the means of gaining the information of others of their race 
in more favored portions of the South. When asked where they 



152 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVAT.RY. 

were going, they invariably replied, "Donno, Massa." When 
asked what they intended to do, they gave the same laconic answer. 
For the privilege of following the command, they cheerfully ren- 
dered menial services for the officers and men. Nearly every 
private had a servant. Even negro women, with sucking babes 
trudged along by the marching column. Many of them finding 
their infantile charges burdensome, left them by the road -side to 
die. The soldiers had taken pity on a wench with a young babe, 
and placed her and the child on a mule. In crossing a muddy 
creek, the mule stumbled and threw the mother and child into 
the mud and water. The mother fell on the child and burried 
it beneath the water. Hastily rising, and lifting it up, she saw 
it choking and gasping, and after looking at it a moment, threw 
it back into the water, and exclaimed: Dah, go to yar Jesus, yar 
better off in his hands, than yah'r in mine," and abandoned it. 
A soldier sprang into the water, but before he could recover it, 
it drowned. Many of the women were advanced in pregnancy 
and give birth to children by the road-side. After a short 
time they would be seen with the command, but without their 
offspring. What they had done with them was easily guessed. 
Some of the negroes perished of the cold and exposure. Their 
dead bodies were found in the morning where they had lain 
down the night before, without blankets, to sleep, but not to 
wake in this life. 

The ground most of the way was exceedingly treacherous. 
The surface looked firm and solid, but underneath a thin ci usl 
was ([iiick'Sand and mud. While riding along in fancied secu- 
rity, the horses broke through the oust, and precipitated their 
riders over their heads. 

The horses, by the excessive labor of traveling through such a 
country without forage, were reduced to skeletons, and many of 
them were abandoned, the unfortunate riders being obliged to 
walk until they captured a mule 

From Hamburg the command marched to De Bastrop, crossed 
the Bavou Burthulmew uii a steamboat, and marched to Gain's 






LOUISIANA EXPEDITION. 15S 

Landing on the Mississippi river, where it embarked on steam- 
boats and returned to Memphis. 

It is impossible to divine the purpose of this expedition. The 
projector of it must have been utterly ignorant of the nature of 
the country through which the command passed. No armed 
lorce ever had, and never could have occupied it. It was utter- 
ly worthless from any possible military point of view. 



1G 



Chapter X. 

GUARDING RAILEOAD AND SCOUTING. 

The regiment moves along the railroad to Lagrange — News of 
the assassination of President Lincoln — Death of Lieut, tikir- 
vin — Mass meeting of citizens and soldiers — /Speech of Col. 
.Browne. 

The rapid succession of victories attending the federal arms, 
in the Spring of 1865, foretold the speedy overthrow of the re- 
bellion. Sherman had accomplished his famous "march to the 
sea," captured Savannah, and marched north into the Carolinas; 
Fort Fisher had fallen, and the rebel army of the West and 
South, under Joseph E. Johnson, was cooped up at Raleigh, North 
Carolina; Gen. Robert, E. Lee had surrendered with his entire 
army. 

At Memphis the only enemy to be encountered were the 
Guerrillas, who were still troublesome. The cavalry at Mem- 
phis were distributed along the Memphis and Charleston rail- 
road, to guard and repair it. 

The 7th Indiana cavalry was at LaFayette Station on that 
road, when the intelligence of the surrender of Gen. Lee was re- 
ceived. The news was hailed with the wildest delight by the 
soldiers. It was known that negotiations were pending for the 
surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnson's army to Gen. Sherman. 
The soldiers were already forming their plans for the future on 
being mustered out of the service, which event they expected 
would occur in a short time. Discipline was relaxed and the 
camps were given up to rejoicings. The sutlers were permitted 
to bring beer into the camp foi the men. 

In the midst of their jollification, the news of the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln was received. A thunder-clap from 
a cloudless sky could not have produced greater consternation. 



GUARDING RAILROAD AND SCOUTING. 155 

The terrible intelligence passed rapidly from person to person, 
and the smile of gladness, playing on their faces a moment be- 
fore, was supplanted by looks of amazement and horror. The 
merry-making was instantly stopped, and the men separating in to 
small groups, talked in undertones of the great calamity that 
had befallen the country. Tears trickled down the faces of 
men who had never been known to weep before. The camp 
wore a funeral-like appearance, and, an unnatural stillness crept 
over it. There was great solicitude as to the effect the death of 
the President would have on military operations. Would it 
prolong the war, and necessitate more bloody battles? 

There was in Northern Mississippi a semi-guerrilla chieftain, by 
the name of Capt. Fort, who made it his business to attack rail- 
road trains and scouting parties. He operated about North Mt. 
Pleasant in Mississippi. Two or three times a week a scouting 
expedition was sent to that place to look after him. 

On the morning of the 3d of April, 1S65, Lieut. Jacob Skirvin 
of company D, with about thirty men, consisting of details from 
the various companies of the regiment, left camp at Lafayette 
Station, and proceeded towards Mt. Pleasant. He came upon 
the camp of Capt. Fort, a mile southwest of the town. The two 
parties discovered each other at about the same time. Lieut 
Skirvin at first thought the rebels were a party from his own 
regiment, that left camp at about the same time he did. He, a 
moment afterward, discovered his mistake, but the slight delay 
gave the rebels time to make some preparations for defense. He 
then, with the advance guard, consisting of only five or six men. 
charged into the camp of the rebels, and was received with a 
volley from behind the trees, to which the rebels sprang, not 
having time to mount their horses. The Lieutenant was struck 
with two balls in the breast and mortally wounded. Those who 
were with him said, he with difficulty kept his saddle, and gpux- 
ed his horse up to the tree where Fort himself was, and reeling 
from side to side in the saddle, his eyes almost closed in death, 
put his revolver around the tree and tried to shoot Fort; but 



156 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

before he could discharge his pistol, Fort shot him with his re- 
volver in the face, when he dropped dead from his horse. Two 
of the men with him were killed and another badly wounded. 
The main command came up, but on seeing Lieut. Skirvin and 
two of the men with him fall, broke away and fled. Some strag- 
glers returned to camp with the news of the disaster, when Capt. 
Moore hastily mounted and went to the relief of Skirvin's party. 

Before the Captain arrived at the scene of the fight, Fort and 
his men had withdrawn. Some citizens had taken Lieut. Skirvin's 
body to a farm-house, half a mile distant, and carefully washed 
the blood and dust from his face and person. He' was a fine 
looking man, and so recent and sudden had been his death, his 
face wore nearly its usual ruddy appearance, and it was difficult 
to realize that he was dead. 

The bodies were placed in a wagon and taken to camp. 
Lieut. Skirvin's was sent to Memphis and buried in the military 
cemetery, with the honors of war. 

Lieut. Skirvin had participated with the regiment in all its 
expeditions and battles, and in every instance had proved him- 
»elf a good officer and a brave man. He was wounded in the 
•abre charge, on the evening of February '2'2<\, 1864, [at Ivy 
Farm, on Sooy Smith's raid to West Point, Mississippi. Hi* 
loss was deeply regreted by the entire regiment. George- 
Patrick and Hiram J. Kail, of company D, were also killed. 

About the first of January, the regiment went to Lagrange, 
Tennessee. 

All of the confederate armies had at that time surrendered. 
Paroled prisoners were constantly passing through the town, on 
the way to their homes in Tennessee and Kentucky. Th» 
members of the regiment were jubilant with the expectation • of 
foon being mustered out of the service and being permitted to 
r*turn to their homes. 

Gen. Washburn had resigned, and was succeeded by Gen. 
Smith. 

On turner ovei f b* '•-•r.r^nd. (Jen Vpa&liburn accompanied 



GUARDING RAILROAD AND SCOUTING. 157 

Gen. Smith to Lagrange, where an impromptu meeting as- 
sembled, composed of federal and ex- confederate soldiers, ladies 
and gentlemen from Memphis and Lagrange, and, negroes. The 
assemblage was quite large and reminded one of old times. 

Gen. Washburn addressed the meeting in a speech of an 
hour's duration. In his remarks he predicted that the negroes 
would be given the right of the elective franchise, and to hold 
office. His prophecy came true. He was followed by Gen. 
J. P. C. Shanks, in a brief speech. 

Next, and last, Col. Browne was called out, and appeared on 
the stand amid a storm of applause, lie delivered the follow- 
ing extemporaneous little speech, which was received by the 
listeners with delight: 

My Fellow Citizens : It was the custom of the ancients to pre- 
serve the best of the wine to the last of the feast. But that 
order has been reversed to-day, as you have called me out to 
throw my little speech in the shade of the distinguished ones 
who have preceded me. If it had been left to my own judg- 
ment, I would have been commanding every one in this country 
for thirty years past. I left the South thirty years ago, and 
have been living in the North ever since, but I speak to you as 
an American citizen. I left you in boyhood; I came back to 
you in the full vigor of manhood, and found you in arms against 
your brothers, against those who never entertained one unkindly 
feeling against you in the world. I enquired why it was. Be- 
cause, I was informed, we had elected a sectional President; and, 
that we proposed to interfere with your domestic institutions ; 
that you were going to whip us, and play the devil generally. 
Now, suppose Mr. Breckenridge had been elected, and the 
North had rebelled. I do not think there was an abolitionist 
in the North who would not have rallied around the banner of 
our country and said to those discontents: "you must submit to 
the Constitution and the Government," and we would have 
hppn with you in that eontroversv. 

When the leaders of the rebellion started to go out of th<* 
Union, they went very much as the dog which tried to jump the 
well in two jumps — he took one jump and then caved. You 
took one jump an I then went under. The result is, that the 
institution of slavery has gone cl^an under, and you need not 
attempt to hunt up the fossils, Our GeY o rnm<=nt did not use 



153 



SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 



the war a? a measure for destroying slavery, but they used 
slavery as a means of destroying the rebellion. You sent your 
sons and husbands to the war, and asked God to protect thpra 
while they were fighting to destroy the Government. The 
North did the same thing for the purpose of rescuing it. 

I must say a word to the r.egro. You have got to work, ami if 
yon expect to be respected, ycu must respect yourselves. If you 
commit murder, you will be hung the same as any other man. 
This war has disclosed a few facts; one of them is that this 
continent is ours, that the American Union must grow and 
extend from the frozen seas to the Gulf of Mexico — until it takes 
in the Western Continent'." 

The ludicrous parts of the speech weie vociferously cheered. 
The negroes were delighted with the remarks addressed to them 
and promised to do everything the Colonel recommended. 

The, men, in their hopes to be speedily mustered out of the 
service, were doomed to disappointment. 

The regiment soon after entered upon a long and tedious 
journey by water and land to Texas, the history of which will 
I p given in the next chapter. 



Chapter XI. 

EY LAND AXD WATEE, TO TEXAS. 

Trip Down the Mississippi, and Up the Red River to Alexan- 
dria, — Amusement of Shooting Alligators, Southern Etiquette 
— Military Execution for Desertion — Departure for Texas — 
A Long, Dreary March Through the Wilderness — Snakes, 
Dugs, Toads, Lizzards, and all manner of Creeping Things — 
Arrival at Hempstead — Brutality of Gen. Custer — Consoli- 
dation of the Regiment. 

The regiment marched from Lagrange to Memphis, where it 
embarked on four steamboats, on the evening of June 17th, 
1865. 

On the 18th, in the morning, the boats swung loose from the 
wharf, and steamed down the broad Mississippi river. 

Aside from being somewhat crowded, and being obliged to 
halt occasionally to assist a boat off a sand-bar, the trip down 
the river was a pleasant one. 

The fleet passed Helena and Napoleon, the latter situated at 
the mouth of the Arkansas river. Both of these places had been 
almost entirely destroyed by the war, and were, during hostili- 
ties, places of resort for bands of guerrillas, that occasionally 
interrupted the navigation of the river, by firing on passing 
boats. It steamed by " Millikin's Bend," the scene of a bloody 
conflict, fought June 6th, 1863, between the colored troops and 
the rebels, in which the latter were defeated. The overflowings 
of the river were rapidly washing away the earthworks, which 
the negroes so gallantly defended. 

The fleet arrived at Vicksburg in the evening. Its high hills 
rose gloomily in the darkness. Two years before, on the 
approach of such a, fleet, they would have blazed from base to 
summit, and would have been rocked as in a cradle, from th« 



ICO SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

furious cannonade that would] nave belched from the guns of 
the fortifications; but now all was peaceful and quiet. 

The boats lay at the wharf during the night, to take in coal. 
Before daylight the next morning, they were pursuing their 
journey down the river. 

At Natches, the fleet stopped awhile, and the men availed 
themselves of the opportunity to mail letters to their friends. 

From Natches it proceeded to the mouth of the Red River, 
where it lay at anchor through the night, the pilots being 
afraid to continue the journey in the dark, they not being 
acquainted with that stream. Early the next morning we 
were again under way toward the headquarters of that great 
river. 

The monotony of the journey was relieved by the alligators 
that abound in the river. They wallowed in the mud on the 
banks, sometimes looking like old logs, or swam across the bow 
of the boats and along side of them. They were of all sizes, 
from old ones ten or twelve feet in length, to young ones just 
commencing the world on their own responsibility. Tiny were 
very dignified in their deportment; when one had occasion to 
cross the river, he managed to pass ten or twenty feet in front 
of the boat, the near approach of which would not accelerate his 
speed a particle. They swam without making a ripple on the 
water, with their heads only above the surface. It occurred to 
some genius among the men, to try what effect lead would have 
on the mailed denizens of the river, and he accidentabj discharg- 
ed his carbine at one, and was astonished to see the ball glance 
from the scaly body without attracting, in the least, the atten- 
tion of the alligator. 

This little incident suggested to the rest of the men the idea 
of making similar experiments. Accordingly they got their car- 
bines and kept a sharp lookout for alligators. They did not 
have to wait long. Ahead a short distance, a tolerably good 
tized one was crossing to the opposite bank, and passed in front 
ut the boat but a few feet from it. The men commenced crack- 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 161 

ing away at it. It was struck several times, but the balls glanc- 
ed off harmlessly ; the alligator acted as if nothing unusual had 
occurred, and did not so much as wink when the balls struck it. 
One day, when all was quiet, some one exclaimed, " Alligator ! " 
" Where, where?" responded a dozen voices. "Yonder in the 
mud on the bank" was the answer. Every eye was strained in 
the direction indicated, but nothing could be seen but an old log 
as it was supposed to be. But by watching it closely, it was 
seen to slowly roll from side to side. At first it was believed to 
be a log, and that the motion was given it by the flowing of the 
river; but a nearer approach disclosed the outlines of the vil- 
lainous looking head of a mammoth alligator. Nearly every 
man was firing at it with his carbine or revolver. It was proba- 
bly struck fifty times before the boat was out of gunshot range, 
but so far as any outward manifestations were concerned, 
it was totally oblivious to the presence of a steamboat loaded 
with soldiers. It kept on rolling, as if rendered too blissfully 
happy by a meal on dog, with a young nigger for desert, articles 
of diet of which alligators are said to be extremely fond, to notice 
worldly things. 

Even shooting alligators became stale, and would have been 
entirely abandoned had not an order been made prohibiting it. 
After that, it was astonishing how many carbines went off by 
pure accident, when an alligator was in sight. 

There was little in the appearance of the country on either bank 
of the river to cheer the traveler. The country to within fifty 
miles of Alexandria is low and flat, covered with timber, and a 
large part of it overflowed with water. 

On approaching Alexandria, the prospect improved. The 
ground rises in places to gentle elevations, and plantation resi- 
dences dot the country. On the evening of the 23d of June, the 
fleet landed at Alexandria, Louisiana, and the troops disembark- 
ed, and went into camp on a sugar plantation at the edge of 
town. The sun beamed down on the shadeless camp terribly 
hot. Awnings, both for the men and horses, were constructed 

17 



162 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

of poles and brush brought from the woods, which measurably 
relieved the suffering caused by the intense heat. 

Alexandria, before the war, was a small city of about five 
thousand inhabitants. It acquired some historic interest by be- 
ing given over to the torch, and the greater and best portion 
of it destroyed by fire, by Gen. Banks, when he left it on the 
14th of May, 1864, on his retreat from his disastrous expedition 
to Sehrevesport. At the time the regiment was there, it con- 
tained but about five hundred inhabitants. 

Old chimneys not yet fallen, and ruined walls, marked the 
site of former business blocks, or of palatial residences. 

But the greatest interest that centers there is the fact, that 
only three miles from the town, was located the military acade- 
my of which Gen. W. T. Sherman was President, on the out- 
bieak of the war. As Gen. Sherman acquired a fame as lasting 
as hi-tory itself, any institution with which he was connected 
will always attract a lively interest. 

Above the city a short distance, were the Red river rapids, 
which were damned up to make the water deep over them so 
the gunboats, that accompanied Gen. Banks, on his Red river ex- 
pedition, and had gone above, them, could get over them, after 
the defeat of Banks at the battle of Mansfield. 

Opposite Alexandria and across the river is Pineville, a small 
village, deriving its name from the groves of large pines that 
surround it. 

. There, also, were two forts constructed by the rebels, when 
they had possession of the country. 

The country around Alexandria is the finest and most fertile 
in the State of Louisiana, and was known as the sugar and cot- 
ton region. 

The planters were wealthy and haughtily aristocratic, as the 
following incident will show. Some officers, one day, tidied at 
a splendid plantation residence, to pay their respects to the 
proprietor. They were met at the door by a negro servant, 
whom they told to inform the master that some officers called to 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 163 

see him. The servant soon reappeared with a silver salver, and 
bowing profoundly, held it ont, The officers did not know the 
meaning of this kind of etiquette, and looked inquiringly from 
one to another for an explanation. One of them said afterwards 
That he thought the negro wanted to take up a collection, and 
was mortified to think he had not a cent to contribute, not hav- 
ing been paid for several months. The spokesman of the party 
explained to the negro that they had simply come to make a 
friendly call, and directed him to so inform the master of the es- 
tablishment, and to say that they were waiting. 

The servant disappeared, and soon an angered gentleman 
appeared at the door, and said, he was not surprised that northei n 
men were not sufficiently well bre 1 to know that they were ex- 
pected to send up their cards when they called on a gentleman. 
Of course the officers pretended to have understood all the time 
that cards were expected from them, but explained that not hav- 
ing been near a printing office for a long time, their supplies of 
cards were exhausted. 

There were concentrated at Alexandria, destined for Huston, 
Texas, about three thousand cavalry under the command of Maj. 
Gen. George A. Custer. 

The time was spent at Alexandria, in drilling in the hot sun, 
fishing in the Red river, and in catching alligators. The men 
occasionally caught cat-fish weighing one hundred pounds and 
upwards. 

Occasionally a baby alligator, from a foot and a half to two 
feet in length, got on dry land and was taken piisoner by the 
men. There were several such pets in the Seventh Indiana. 
Even full grown alligators, in making raids in search of food, 
got quite a distance from the water, and were attacked and 
killed by the soldiers. 

Like all monsters, that seem invulnerable, they have tl 

weak point?, which when known, make them an easy prey fco 
the hunter. These points are the eyes, and a certain spot in the 
back of the head. A ball entering either of these places will 



lfii SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

instantly kill them. As already stated,* they have a peculiar 
fondness for dogs and negroes. A bark of a dog near a bayou, 
will bring to the surface the heads of all the alligators in it. 
They leave the water, and crawl up behind negro children, and 
by a peculiar stroke of their tails, knock them into their jaws. 

A short time after the troops disembarked at Alexandria, a 
negro laid down and went to sleep on some baggage near the brink 
of the river, and an alligator was discovered crawling out of 
the water, but a short distance from him, evidently intending to 
make a meal of him. The soldiers drove the alligator back into 
the river and awoke the negro, who was seized with an almost 
mortal terror, on being informed of the danger he had so narrow- 
ly escaped. 

There was a growing discontent among the soldiers at being 
sent further south, when, as they supposed, the war was over. 
This led to numerous desertions, in fact, the men deserted in 
squads and platoons. On several occasions nearly the whole 
command was called out at night, to prevent the threatened 
desertions of companies and of a regiment. Some of the men 
on this duty deserted, when attention was directed elsewhere. 
The dissatisfaction of the men was increased by the cruel treat- 
ment of General Custer. That General had won a good repu- 
tation in the east, as a fighting general. He was only twenty- 
five year3 of age, and had the usual egotism and self-importance 
of a young man. He was a regular army officer, and ha.i bred in 
hirn the tyranny of the regular army. He did not distinguish be- 
tween a regular soldier and a volunteer. He did not stop to 
consider that the latter were citizens, and not soldiers by pro- 
fession — men who had lefl their homes and families, to meet a 
crisis ic the history of their country, and when the crisis was 
passed, they had the right to return to their homes. He had no 
sympathy in common with the private soldiers, but regarded 
them simply as machines, created for the special purpose of 
obeying his imperial will. Everything about him indicated the 
fop and dandy. His long, yid3ow hair fell in ringlet* on his 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 165 



shoulders. Everything in the regulations, that was gaudy, and 
tended only to excite vanity, he caused to be scrupulously 
observed. 

His wife accompanied him on the march to Texas, and he 
compelled soldiers to perform menial services for her and him- 
self, which was in express violation of the law. 

A sergeant of the Second Wisconsin, and a private of thp 
Fifth Illinois Cavalry, were court-martialed for desertion and 
sentenced to be shot. Gen. Custer, disregarding the earnest 
appeals of all the field officers of his command, determined to 
carry the sentence into effect. 

The army was formed on three sides of a hollow square, 
faced inwards. Two coffins were placed near the center of the 
square, and fifteen feet apart. 

Gen- Custer and staff took their positions in the center of the 
square, facing the open side. The provost guard that was to 
do the shooting, was formed about thirty fret in front of the 
coffins, facing the open side of the square. 

The condemned men were placed in a cart, with their hands 
pinioned behind them, with each a white bonnet on, that was to 
be drawn over their eyes when the execution took place, entered 
from the open side at the right, and passed slowly around the 
square in front of each regiment, to the tune of the dead march. 
No one can know till they witness it, the feelings of hori 
military execution imposes! 

Language, aided by the most vivid imagination, cannot portray 
the agony of nainl, the condemned must suffer. Earm step, 
and each roll of the muffled drum, admonish them that they 
surely approaching their doom. 

After reaching the left of the square, the condemned ' 
taken out of the cart, and each seated on a coffin, facing the 
provost guard, their legs lashed to the coffins, and the bonnets 
drawn over their eyes. The law requires that one gun fired by 
the provost guard shall be loaded with a blank cartridge. The 
guard a.re informed that, one gun of the. lot hat; no bullet iu ijb; 



166 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

and, of course each man hopes that he has that gun. The 
provost marshal cautions the guard to take accurate aim, that 
the condemned may be saved unnecessary suffering by not being 
killed. He further has a selfish motive, for it his duty, should 
the condemned not be killed, to step up to him and complete 
the work with a revolver. 

Gen. Custer had concluded to commute the punishment of one 
of the condemned to imprisonment for three years at the Dry 
Tortugas, bnt he kept it a secret from all except his provost 
marshal. 

A moment before the execution, the provost marshal stepped 
up to the one whose sentence was commuted, to lead him away. 
He clapped his hand on him rather roughly, and the poor fellow, 
thinking he was shot, swooned away, and died a few days after- 
wards from the fright he received. 

The provost marshal then gave the command: "Ready!" the 
click of the guns, as they were cocked, was heard by the entire 
command, who almost held their breaths, and who could hear 
their hearts throbbing against their bosoms. " Aim ! " was the 
next command, and the guns were leveled at the condemned. 
After quite a pause, to enable the guard to get accurate aim, 
the command: " Fire! " rang out, and simultaneously the report 
of the ritles were heard. The blue smoke from the guns curled 
away, and the soldier who had such a longing to return to his 
wife and children, after an absence of years, that he braved 
death, in attempting to get home, pierced by several balls, fell 
back on his coffin, dead ! 

Each regiment was marched past the body, so every 
could see it, and then returned to its quarters. 

The execution was pronounced by the officers to have been 
barbarous. The frightening the soldier to death, under the pre- 
tence of commuting his sentence, was the refinement of cruelty. 

The crime of which these men were guilty cannot be excused, 
and, in time of active war, they should have fullered death. 
They r.u^'hf t<-> have been punished as i ; \yas,butnot with death. 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 167 

There is a vast difference in desertion in the face of ah enemy, 
and desertion after a war is over, where soldiers are kept in the 
service, simply to retain dandy officers like Custer, a little longer 
in authority. An officer who cannot distinguish between grades 
of crime is not fit to have authority over his fellow men. 

The most horrible part of this proceding is, the execution was 
in violation of law. Article 65 of the Articles of War, re- 
quired, that before the death sentence could be carried into 
effect, the proceedings of the court martial should be submitted 
to the President of the United States for his approval. That 
was not done. 

After waiting in vain to be paid off, previous to resuming the 
march, General Custer, on the 8th of August, with his com- 
mand, left Alexandria for Texas. 

We give the history of this march in Gen. Browne's own 
language, as copied from his journal, which is well worth read- 
ing on account of the rich vein of humor that pervades it. 

" Jucsday. August 8th: — All things being ready, we started 
on the morning of August 8th, on our ever-to-be-remembered 
expedition as an "army of observation" to Texas. Day had 
not broken, and the full, clear-faced moon threw out a resplen- 
ilant shower of bright silvery light over the world. Its radiance 
danced "fantasies most beautiful" upon the muddy waters of 
the old river. Even burned and dilapidated Alexandria looked 
proud and majestic, but desolate amid her ruins. As I started 
I cast a look "behind me," to the old sugar field where our 
camp had been, but no tent stood upon its bosom. Our village 
of tents had melted from the face of the earth, like "snow flakes" 
beneath a "summer sun." A hearty shout went up from three 
thousand throats, and in a moment a long line of mounted 
cavalry, with sabres and carbines, threaded through the sleep- 
ing town, and parsed out of it forever. Farewell, Alexandria ! 
Farewell, land of bayous, alligators, bugs, flies, mosquitoes, and 
graybacks. 

Our route for the first few miles lay almost parallel with Red 



168 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

River, and over large level and abandoned cotton and sugar 
plantations. We then "tacked," in sailor phrase, "sou-west." 
Here, the road was for several miles, skirted on either side with 
hedges, resembling the wild rose of the north. In height, these 
hedges were full twelve feet, reaching far above our heads as 
we rode along. They were thickly matted, and I suppose 
neither bird or beast could pass through. 

It looked beautiful, indeed, to see these long narrow aisles 
between the growing fence, and to see the banks of green on 
either side, with here and there a modest white flower peeping 
half reluctantly from beneath the foliage. The weather was 
hot, the roads about one foot deep in fine dust and sand. We 
got dust in our eyes, dust in our mouths, dust in our ears, and, 
in fact, we were well nigh transformed into living sand- heaps. 

Fifteen miles from Alexandria, we struck a bluff rising abrupt- 
ly at the edge of the level plain. Up to this point we had 
scarcely seen a tiee, or bush, but now we suddenly entered a 
thick and unbroken forest of pines, which grew upon a soil so 
barren, that ten acres of it would not raise a hill of beans. On 
this day we made a march of some twenty-five miles, and went 
into camp at 4 o'clock p. m., in a beautiful pine grove. 

We had plenty of water, although it was taken from bayous 
and from a creek. But for millions of vermin, that were con- 
stantly fighting us, we slept well. 

Wednesday, August 9th, 1865: — Reveille at two o'clock. We 
marched at four o'clock in the morning, and having made 
eleven miles, went into camp on a delightful little knoll, in a 
forest of tall and thrifty pines. Here we found the first good 
water in Louisiana, and it was in a little and nearly stagnant 
creek. The country, so far, is still flat, and has nothing but 
sand and pines. Deer, and other wild game, are abundant, and 
it is nothing uncommon to see an old buck scampering through 
the road by the side of our marching column. Once in ten 
miles we find a little cabin standing in a small clearing of a half 
acre. This patch 19 planted in melons, and sweet potatoes, or 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 1G9 

yams, and this cabin is occupied, as I observed in passing it, by a 
"lean, lank and bony" woman, of the color of clay, and by a 
half-dozen dirty and sickly-looking children. 

Women and urchins stand about the door as we pass, and 
seem to be utterly bewildered. They can't imagine " whar in the 
devil all the 'Yanks' come from." 

In the evening, inasmuch as we had made so short a march, 
I had regimental dress parade. It was, perhaps, the only 
"Yankee parade" those old forests ever witnessed ; as for me, it 
will be the last. 

Thursday, August \0tli : — -Marched on the same time as 
yesterday, passed through the same kind of country. Pines 
before us, pines behind us, pines on each side of us, nothing but 
pines. Weather very hot. Water very scarce and bad. The 
little water we got was brackish and unfit for any use, except to 
be drank by soldiers. We made sixteen miles to^day, and 
pitched our tents again in the pine woods, (excuse me for writing 
so much about pines, sand, dust, bad water, and bugs, for this 
country affords no other subjects for the pen, and in other 
respects is so unpoetic, that to make a draft on imagination 
would totally ruin the brain of an ordinary man.) 

Friday, August Wth: — Had no sleep last night. Was up till 
midnight drawing rations and forage, then went to bed to be 
bitten and stung, and scratched and kicked until 2 o'clock a. m., 
when the bugles blowed me out of bed, high and dry, by the 
morning reveille. The morning was pleasant, as every morning 
always is, but, oh, Lord! the noon of day blistered us delight- 
fully. 

Camped at noon at Annacoco creek, which afforded abund- 
ance of clear, running water. I dipped my canteen full of its 
"liquid," and took a good "swig" of the beverage with a 
keener relish than ever toper took his whisky toddy. I felt 
like serving out the balance of my time there. 

Saturday, August \2th : — As on the previous days, we were 
up at 2 o'clock and started on the march at 4 o'clock a. m. 

18 



1^0 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

The country was still "pine woods and sandy roads," without 
variableness or shadow of turning. This day we arrived, after 
a march of fifteen miles, at the Sabine river, which is the 
boundary between Texas and Louisiana. This river is navigable 
during six months of the year for a hundred miles above the 
point at which we struck it, although at this time it was not 
more than fifty yards wide, and the water is not more than ten 
feet deep at the deepest point. By looking at the map you 
will see the place at which we made the crossing; it is marked 
"Bevil's Ferry," which is at the north-east corner of Newton 
county. At this place, (which is no place at all, but a river 
crossing), the rebels threw up a large and formidable earthwork 
to stop our forces, in the event they should have undertaken to 
cross into Texas. They had their "labor for their pains," as no 
Yankee was ever so foolish as to undertake to march an army 
through such a God-forsaken country as that between Alexan- 
dria and the Texas line, 

Sunday , August loth : — Lay quietly in camp on the Anna- 
coco, until 4 o'clock p. m. The iorenoon was employed in 
putting a pontoon bridge across the Sabine. On this day, at 
about 10 o'clock a. m., 1 crossed the river on horseback and stood 
for the first time on the chivalric soil of the "Lone Star" State, 
Texas. I went some three or four miles through the woods to 
the nearest larm-house, and found an original Texan. He had 
come to Texas in 1820, and fought in the Texan war of 
1836, and in the war with Mexico in 1815. He was now too 
old to engage in the pastime of shooting men, and was, there- 
fore, not engaged in the past rebellion, but I enjoyed more than 
two hours in hearing him relate, in the true backwoods style, 
the history of his earlier fights and escapes. 

For nearly thirty years he had lived in the woods, exiled 
irom civilized life, in a great measure, and to-day he is so far 
removed Irom everybody, that he stands a good chance of dying 
without his neighbors knowing him to be sick. I bought a 
Iim ht'l of excellent peaches and a melon or two from the old 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 171 

man, paid him in "greenbacks," and bid him a goodbye. He 
had never seen such money before, and seemed very anxious to 
know whether such currency would pay his taxes. Being 
assured that it would, he was happy, and so we left him. 

On Sunday afternoon, we struck tents and were again on the 
march. We crossed the Sabine immediately, with our whole 
command, and unfurled, for the first time in four and a half 
years, the "Star-Spangled" banner in north-eastern Texas. 
After crossing the river, we struck a low, flat and sandy country, 
with only an occasional patch fit for cultivation. The soil is 
starvation poor. The timber is oak, birch, pine, and magnolia. 
After traveling through this kind of country for some five miles, 
we suddenly struck the pine hills again, and on one of these 
ridges, at 9 o'clock p. m., we went into camp for the night. 

Monday, Aug. 14.th: — Started as usual at 4 o'clock in the 
morning, made some fifteen miles and went into camp near 
Faris' Mills on Cow Creek. Weather warm, roads dusty, no 
houses, woods all pine, water very scarce and bad. Pitched my 
tent in a "yaller jacket's" nest, got stung and swore blue blazes. 

Tuesday, Aug. 15th: — Marched early again. Passed through 
the same kind of country, and camped on a very considerable 
sized frog-pond near the county seat of Jasper county, Texas. 
The country is almost an uninhabited wilderness. Land wretch- 
edly poor and the people too poor to be wretched. 

Wednesday, Aug. 16th: — Marched before daylight, and just as 
the sun was rising passed through the town of Jasper. This 
night we camped among the " Pines" again, near the Angelina 
river and about fifteen miles from its confluence with Nechea 
river. At this place Capt. Moore of Gen. Custer's staff, left us, 
and went on rapidly to report for orders at Houston. 

Thursday, Aug. 11th:— On this day we crossed the Angelina 
and Neches river. The first we forded and the latter we had to 
bridge with our pontoons. No good country yet. Pines and 
deer, bugs, snakes and gallinippers inhabit the whole face of the 
earth. The two rivers run through boundless pine forests, and 



172 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

have no good land about tliem. The whole face of the country 
to-day looks as if it was uninhabited by man, and as if even God 
himself had abandoned it. We camped in the woods after a 
short march, and enjoyed the usual luxury of being bitten almost 
to death by the infernal bugs. 

Friday, Aug. ISth:— Marched out of the woods, into the 

woods, and through the woods, and camped, God only knows 
where. I could not find any body during the whole day to in- 
quire of where I was, so I can simply say that I was in the 
woods all day, and camped in the woods at night. 

Saturday, Aug. ldih: — Marched a long, dry and weary march 
to-day For twenty-seven long miles we were without wat< r, 
and after making a march of that distance, we had to camp on a 
little dry run, and dig holes in it to catch water enough to fill 
our canteens — miserable water it was after we got it. , This was 
the hardest clay of the march, as our men and horses were nearly 
famished for water. They came very nearly pegging out. I 
thought a dozen times that I would have to take an ambulance, 
but I stuck it through. Just before going into camp, we struck 
a very fine farming country of four or five miles in width. One 
or two farms were indeed handsome. In any other part of the 
world, I could have lived on one of them, but there, I would 
not have taken one as a gift. I can say this of Texas generally. 
It is a very mean State. 

/Sunday, Aug. 20th: — Marched as usual in the morning at 4 
o'clock, and made a distance of seventeen miles to Swartwoutz's 
Ferry on Trinity river. We forded the Trinity, and camped 
shortly after noon, immediately on its western bank. I put up 
my tent just at the edge of its strep bank, and about thirty feet 
above its wafers. The river banks are very steep indeed. The 
water was very low when we crossed, but much of the year large 
sized side-wheel steamers pass for hundreds of miles above the 
Ferry. This camp was named by the boys, 'Camp Rattlesnake,' 
as we killed several dozen of thj size there. One could 

scarcely put his fool i id rusty 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 173 

These snakes are generally very large, and were the most 
dangerous of all the various tribes that fill Texas. I killed one 
old fellow myself, with thirteen rattles on his tail, showing him 
to have been fourteen years old. His snakeship was near six 
feet in length and was very large for Ids size. Dr. Roether pull- 
ed out his teeth, and lias them lor a Texan keepsake. We had 
a- snaky time of it while in camp, you may be sure. Swart- 
woutz Ferry is a little town as well as a river crossing, but the 
town, part of it, is too little to mention. We remained in this 
camp over night and dreamed of snakes; and on 

Monday, Aug. list:— at 4 o'clock we were in our saddles and 
off again. Here the country began to improve very decidedly. 
Passed by some fine plantations and with here and there a very 
commodious farm house. We made another long march of 
twenty-seven miles without water, and camped for the night on 
a little dried up run, that afforded but little to drink for either 
man or beast. On this day we also passed through two beauti- 
ful villages, Cold Springs and Waverly, the only towns worth 
the mentioning, I had yet seen in Texas. They were not large, 
but showed both thrift and taste. I noticed also in each, neat 
churches, and a neat school house, neither of which had I before 
seen in Texas, although up to this time I hail traveled some one 
hundred and fifty miles in the State. We spent at this camp 
another terrible night, with the bugs and other vermin, which 
ruined my sleep, and got me up at an early hour in the morn- 
ing. 

Tuesday, Aug. 22d: — Marched at the old time. The country 
still improves. This morning we struck the eastern fork of the 
San Jacinto river. We crossed it and camped, after a march of 
some fourteen miles, on the middle branch of the stream. The 
San Jacinto has three forks to it. The eastern, middle and 
western, all of which come together and form the river proper. 
These forks are but small streams where we crossed them, but 
the river itself is of some size where it enters Buffalo Bayou 
Houston. This river 



17-i SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALKY. 

battle of San Jacinto fought on its bank on the Gth of April, 
1836. 

This battle was fought between the Texans under Sam Hous- 
ton, and the Mexicans under Santa Anna, and was the battle in 
which the Texans won their independence. 

Our camp was about fifty miles above the battle field. Again 
in this camp we waked up some of our old enemies, the rattlers 
and we slew them without mercy. Nothing of interest occurr- 
ed here. We had plenty of water, and we enjoyed it. It now 
became apparent that our rations were running short, so 'the or- 
der was to live on half rations, and go fast, as we could get 
nothing until we reached Houston. 

Thursday, Aug. 23d: — We were in our saddles again, and 
moving, before daylight. We came to the flourishing town of 
Danville, Montgomery county, at about sun up. The country 
about this place is beautiful, it being small, rolling, but fertile 
prairies. From Danville we struck near Montgomery, the 
county seat, and again camped on a small stream of good water. 
To-day we passed through a large prairie twelve miles in width, 
in which we saw but one house. The prairie was as as level as 
a Boor, and we could see for miles from side to side. 

Hundreds of cattle were herding upon the tall prairie grass, 
but I tan not imagine who owned them, and nobody appeared to 
live within miles of it. Water was reasonably plenty, and being 
very much fatigued, I went to bed (that is, I laid down) early 
and enjoyed a sweet, refreshing sleep. The bugs bit me in vain 
for once. 

Friday, Aug. "l\!,h: — The bugles sounded reveille at 2 o'clock, 
and again the camp was in motion. Three thousand camp fires 
could be seen in the dark of the morning, with the boys about 
them, busily engaged in preparing a hasty cup of coffee. That 
taken, we were in the saddle again and on our way. We Boon 

Btruck a large prairie and at once the column (which had 1 n 

marching south) turned directly west. It soon became known 
that \vc were making for the railroad, and that we were not to 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 175 

go to Houston at all. We had marched two hundred and fifty 
miles to see the city, and then had to turn our backs upon it 
after having come within twenty miles of it. At noon we struck 
Cypress Creek, near the little town of Cypress City, and once 
again pitched our tents. We were surrounded upon all sides 
by prairie. No trees to be seen except a few cypress thar, stood 
lonely sentinels on the banks of the creek. Here we were to 
await rations and then march toward Austin. We were now at 
the Texis Central railroad, and on this afternoon I saw the first 
locomotive I had seen since I left Memphis. The sight of it 
made me feel as if I were almost at home again, but a moment's 
reflection taught me that I was leaving home and friends farther 
and farther behind me every day. At sundown we learned that 
we could not get supplies before reaching Hempstead, some 
twenty-seven miles distant. We were ordered to march at mid- 
night. The very idea of marching at midnight made me sleepy. 

Saturday, 25th: — Promptly at midnight we were up and off. 
Passed through Cypress City. Passed into a big prairie and 
haven't got out of it to this day. For twenty-seven miles we 
had prairie on every side of us. Cattle, prairie hens, and an 
occasional deer, were the only things animate or inanimate that 
lent variety to the scene. A long prairie is at first a beautiful 
sight, but it .soon grows tame and dull. At noon on this day, 
after a tedious march of eighteen days, in which we made seme 
three hundred miles distance, we arrived at Hempstead. 

During all this time I did not average more than three hours 
of sleep in each night, although we made but short marches each 
day. To sleep in the daytime was impossible, I was broken out 
with heat as thickly as ever one was withmeasels, from the 'bot- 
tom of my feet to the crown of my head,' and during the warm part 
of the day, I felt like I was being constantly pricked with a mil- 
lion of pins,or was being sprinkled on the bare skin with hot ashes. 
The itch isn't a circumstance to the heat. In addition to this, 
lay down when you might, in the pine woods, and you were 
alive with bugs and all manner of creeping things in a moment, 



1?6 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

and each one of this army of vermin could bite, scratch, sting 
and gnaw you all at the same time. 

Then notwithstanding we were in immense forests of pines, 
we never had any shade. These pine woods are open, without 
underbrush or small trees. The pines had small, slim trunks, 
growing up fifty to eighty feet without a limb. At the top they 
are crossed with a few short limbs, but not larger in whole cir- 
cumference than a cotton umbrella. They therefore throw out 
no shade but that of the trunks alone, and its shade has about 
the width of a gate-post. Lay down in it, and in five minutes 
it runs away from you and leaves you, high and dry, in the 
sweltering sunshine." The Colonels experience on this march 
was the experience of every man in the command. 

The regiment, on its arrival at Hempstead, was almost desti- 
tute of clothing, and was nearly starving. Owing to the incom- 
petency or rascality of the quartermaster's department, no stores 
had been accumulated for the command. 

One day word got out in camp that some soldiers, with a pon- 
toon train, had killed a beef, and had left a portion of it. Some 
men from the 7th Indiana, and other regiments went out to get 
the refuse meat. The soldiers from the other regiments got it 
before the men from the 7th Indiana arrived. Sergeant Garl- 
and Corporal Gereau and James T. Arnold of company I, 7th 
Indiana, were of the party. Greatly disappointed at not get- 
ing any of the meat, and being nearly starved, they killed a 
runty calf worth about one dollar and brought some of the meat 
into camp. Of course the rebel owner of the calf made com- 
plaint to Custer, who, anxious for an opportunity to exercise 
cruelty, lent a willing ear to his statements. The next 
morning, while the regiment was at roll-call, an Aid 
from Custer dashed up with orders for the regiment to remain 
in line till the quarters were searched. The Aid went through 
all the tents of the men, and in the tent of Corporal Gereau 
found some of the meat. The Corporal and all of his messmates 
were arrested and sent to Custer's headquarters. Contrary to 



BY LAND AND WATER TO TEXAS. 177 

liis promise to Col. Shanks, to have the men. tried in a legal 
way by court-martial, Custer ordered his Provost Martial, a 
brute perfectly willing to do his dirty work, to go through the 
farce of an examination. Gereau and Arnold confessed in a 
manly way all they had done. Custer ordered their heads to 
be shaved, and that they receive forty lashes each, and after- 
Wards, be marched in front of the regiment on dress parade. 

Against the protest of Colonels Shanks and Browne and Maj. 
Carpenter, the brutal and illegal order was carried out to the 
letter. By act of Congress approved Aug. 5, 18G1, flogging in 
the army was abolished and prohibited. This outrage won for 
Custer the lasting hatred of every decent man in his command. 

Corporal Gereau had been in the service since the commence- 
ment of the war. He was severely wounded in the battle of 
Anteitam, and discharged on account of his wounds. He suffic- 
iently recovered to be able to enlist in the 7th Indiana cavalry. 

He had always been a true and reliable soldier. He would 
not lie to save himself from punishment. Maj. Carpenter, who 
knew him well, put the utmost reliance on his truthfulness; he 
was too manly to expose Sergeant Carr, who was with him and 
assisted in killing the calf. 

But poor Gereau came to a sad end. After the war, he was 
tried and convicted in Indiana, of the crime of rape. The de" 
tails of the offence, as stated by the prosecuting witness, were 
horrible in the extreme. He was sent to the Jeffersonville 
prison. Maj. Carpenter was passing through the prison one 
day and saw a convict rapidly approaching him. When in front 
of him he discovered the convict to be Gereau. The Major 
learned from him the cause of his imprisonment. He also learn- 
ed from him that he was innocent of the crime. Major Carpen- 
ter says, that as soon as Gereau told him he was innocent, he 
knew he was, for Gereau would not lie. After Gereau had been 
in prison about four years, the prosecuting witness was taken 
sick and died. Before dying she confessed to her priest, that 
Gereau was innocent of the crime, and that she had perjured him 

19 



178 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

into the State prison for revenge. The Priest took down her 
statement, and, laid it before Gov. Baker, who immediately 
pardoned Gereau. 

When informed of his pardon, he was so overjoyed by his un- 
expected good fortune, that it threw him into brain fever, of 
which he died a day or two afterwards. 

By the usual casualties of the service, the number of the regi- 
ment had been reduced to five hundred and fifty men. 

In some of the companies the commissioned and non-commis- 
sioned officers were in excess of the privates. 

It was, therefore, decided to consolidate the regiment into six 
companies, and muster oitt the supernumerary commissioned and 
non-commissioned officers. The opportunity of geting home, 
was eagerly embraced by those lucky enough to be mustered out 
of the service. 

The reorganization of the regiment and its operations, there- 
after, will be given in the next and last chapter of this History 
of the Regiment. 



Chapter XII. 

REORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. 

The Regiment Begins its March for Austin — Passes Through 
Benham and Bastrop — -The Mayor of Bastrop Extends to 
Col. Browne the Liberty of the City, in a Speech in German, 
that Knocks the Poetry all out of him — " Colonel, you ish a 
German, I Under slant" — Arrival at Austin — Final Muster 
Out. 

The following commissioned officers of the regiment, were 
mustered out of the service, on its consolidation : Col. J. P. C. 
Shanks, Maj. James H. Carpenter, Capt. John K. Parmelee, of 
company A; Captain Sylvester L. Lewis, and 2d Lieut. Cyrus 
B. Polly, of company B; 1st Lieut. Lewis F. Braugher, D; 1st 
Lieut. Lee. Roy Woods, of company E; 1st Lieut. Thomas S. 
Cogley, of company F; 2d Lieut. James Dundan, of company G; 
Ezekiel Brown, as 1st Sergeant of company H, was commis- 
sioned 2d Lieutenant, but did not muster. 1st Lieut. John W. 
Longwell, and 2d Lieut. Thomas J. Howard, of company I; 
Captain Samuel M. Lake, and 1st Lieut. Charles T. Noble, of 
company K; Captain Benjamin F. Dailey, and 1st Lieut. George 
W, Stover, of company L. 

These officers, together with some enlisted men, who were 
mustered out at the same time, went by railroad to Galveston, 
and from there by steamer on the Gulf of Mexico to New 
Orleans, thence by steamboat and railroad to their homes in 
Indiana. 

The evening before their departure from the camp at Hemp- 
stead, the regiment assembled at head-cpuarters, and listened to 
parting speeches from Colonels Shanks and Browne, and Major 
Carpenter. Although those who were going home were delight- 
ed with the prospect of soon being with their families and 
friends in Indiana, yet when the hour for parting came, the 



180 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

recollections of the common clangers and privations they had 
shared, caused the tears to coarse down the cheeks of the war- 
worn veterans, as they grasped each other by the hand and said 
"goodbye." 

The field and regimental non-commissioned officers of the 
regiment as reorganized, were: Colonel, Thomas M. Browne; 
Lieut.-Col., Samuel E. W. Simonson; Majors, Joel H. Elliott, 
John M. Moore, and Joseph W. Skelton ; Adjutant, Charles H. 
Gleason; Quartermaster, Aaron L. Jones; Commissary, 1st 
Lieut. Nathan Garrett; Surgeon, Joshua Chitwood ; Assistant 
Surgeon, Daniel B. Roether; Sergeant-Major, George W. Spick- 
nell; Veterinary Surgeon, Lysander F. Ingram; Quartermaster- 
Sergeant, William H. Eldridge; Commissary-Sergeant, William 
A. Dynes; Hospital Steward, John Cook; Chief Bugler, George 
F. Andrews; Saddler Sergeant, Samuel B. Henderson. 

Company A was composed of companies II and I of the old 
organization. Officers: Capt., Robert G. Smither; 1st Lieut., 
William H. Crane; 2d Lieut., Max Schoen, 

Company B was composed of companies L and M. Captain, 
John G. Meyer; 1st Lieut., Barton B. Jenkins; 2d Lieut., 
Thomas W. Gibson. 

Company C was composed of companies A and F. Captain, 
John Donch; 1st Lieut., James C. Barnes; 2d Lieut., Rufus H. 
Norton. 

Company D was composed of companies B and D. Captain, 
John L. Reid; 1st Lieut., George W. Shreeve; 2d Lieut., George 
W. Baxter. 

Company E was composed of companies K and E. Captain, 
James E.Sloan; 1st Lieut., Elijah S. Blackford; 2d Lieut., John 
D. Longfellow. 

Company F was composed of companies C and G. Captain, 
George R. Kennedy; 1st Lieut., Andrew J. Thompson; 2d 
Lieut., Charles R. Jones. 

At 3 o'clock, on the morning of the oOth of October, 1865, 
the regiment broke camp at Hempstead, and started on its 



REORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. 1S1 

march to Austin, the capital of the State. It crossed the Brazos 
river about S o'clock a. m., on a pontoon bridge, and at 4 o'clock 
p. m., camped two and a half miles from Brenham, on thv Texas 
Central railroad. 

On the evening of November 2d, the regiment camped one- 
half mile north-east of Bastrop, a town on the Colorado river. 
At this place Gen. Custer perpetrated a joke upon Col. Browne. 
The General, with the main command, preceded the Seventh 
Indiana. In passing through Bastrop, Gen. Custer told the 
Mayor of the city that Colonel Browne was coming, and that he 
was a German. On arriving at the edge of the city, Colonel 
Browne, and Lieut -Colonel Simonson, who were in advance of 
the command, were met by the Mayor of the city, a tall, gaunt 
man, whose accents betrayed his teutonic origin. 

Col. Browne was pointed out to the Mayor, who enquired for 
him. The Mayor then introduced to the Colonel, a man with n 
speckled face, short legs, and a bay-window abdomen, as the 
"Chief Justice." His Honor, the Mayor, then proceeded to 
inform Colonel Browne, that they came on behalf of the people 
of Bastrop, to extend to him the Liberty of the City. Here 
was an event in the life of the Colonel. It was an occasion that 
required the highest order of oratorical powers on the part of 
the recipient of such extraordinary honors. The Colonel quick- 
ly took in the whole range of ancient history, and remembered 
that in olden times, the citizens, to conciliate conquering heroes, 
went forth to meet them, and extend the liberty of the cities. 

The Colonel closed his eyes, in an effort to invoke the aid of 
all the muses. Just as he had stumbled on a choice quotation 
from Shakespear, and was about to accept of the hospitalities, 
etc., the poetry was knocked out of him, and the muses banished 
to their shaddowy realms, by the Mayor remarking: "Colonel, 
you ish a German I understant," and proceeding to address 
him in the German language, which was as unintelligable to the 
Colonel as Chinese or Cherokee Indian. The Colonel was com- 
pelled to acknowledge his ignorance of German, and pleading 



182 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

pressing official duties, bade the Mayor adieu. As the Colonel 
and his attendants proceeded on their way, Lieut.-Colonel 
Simonson was heard to say, as if talking to himself: "Colonel, 
you ish a German I understand" 

From Bastrop, the command marched to Austin, arriving 
there on the 4th of November. The permanent camp was es- 
tablished at "Seiders Springs," two and one-half miles north of 
the city. 

The regiment was mustered out of the service on the 18th of 
February, 18G6, pursuant to special orders No. 20, Department 
of Texas. 

It then proceeded to Galveston, where it embarked on a steam- 
er and crossed the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. From there 
it went by steamboat up the Mississippi to Cairo, Illinois, and 
from thence by railroad to Indianapolis. 

At the latter place, the ladies prepared a dinner for the 
regiment. 

Gov. Baker and Gen. Shanks, the former Colonel of the 
regiment, were present, and made speeches, to which Colonel 
Browne responded. 

After being paid, the men dispersed to their homes. 

Here ends the history of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. 
Indiana sent no better regiment to the field during the great 
rebellion. It was the last Indiana Cavalry regiment mustered 
out of the service. 



Chapter XIII. 

BURNING OF THE SULTANA. 

The burning of the splendid steamer, Sultana, is connected 
with the history of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, because at the 
time of that terrible disaster, there were aboard of her, and lost 
in the calamity with hundreds of other soldiers, from thirty to 
forty of the members of the regiment. 

The Sultana was one of the largest size steamboats. She had 
been running but three years, and was valued at eighty 
thousand dollars. 

The quartermaster, at Vicksburg, was guilty of criminal care- 
lessness in overloading the boat. About two thousand soldiers 
were on board, most of whom had but recently been released 
from Andersonville and other prisons, where they had been 
imprisoned for months, and suffered the tortures devised by the 
rebel government, and were at the time of the disaster, on their 
way to their homes in the North. Besides these, there were a 
large number of passengers consisting of men, women and 
children, and the boats crew, and a large quantity of freight, 
principally sugar. 

With her freight of precious souls, the Sultana, on the 6th of 
April, 1805, arrived at Memphis, where she lay till midnight, 
to unload one hundred hogsheads of sugar. Having discharged 
her freight, the bell summoned passengers "on board," and 
warned visitors to go ashore. Parting friends shook each other 
by the hand, and said "goodbye," little dreaming that that was 
the last time they would ever clasp hands, or exchange words of 
friendship this side of the grave. The gang-plank was drawn 
in; the engines of the boat put the ponderous wheels in motion; 



BURNING OP THE SULTANA. 185 

and the proud Sultana swung out into the current of the 
Mississippi, and was soon hurrying on to her terrible doom. 
The passengers retired to their berths : 

"To sleep, perchance to dream," 

of home, friends and loved ones, thinking that when they awoke 
in the morning they would be many miles nearer their destina- 
tion. Sixteen hundred of them were destined to awaken soon 
alter, to find themselves, not only nearer, but at their great final 
destination. Before the sun, on the morrow, illumined the east 
with its golden Hood of light, sixteen hundred human beings, 
who left Memphis a short hour before, bouyant with hope, 
were doomed to enter upon— 

"That bourne whence no traveler ere returns." 

When about seven miles above Memphis, the boilers of the 
Sultana exploded, hurling the pilotdiouse and a portion of the 
cabin high into the air. They came down on the deck a com- 
plete wreck, and buried many of the passengers in the debiis, 
who, being unable to extricate themselves, were burned to death. 
Men, women and children, rushed from their berths in their 
night attire, and with the most heart-rending screams, plunged 
into the river, preferring death by drowning, to the more 
horrid one of burning. Mothers, with their babes pressed to 
their bosoms, jumped into the water and sank to rise no more. 
One heroic mother cast herself and babe into the river, and by 
means of a mattrass, managed to keep afloat till both were 
rescued by a boat, several miles from the scene of the disaster. 
Husbands threw their wives into the water and plunged in after 
them, and after a brief struggle, found their last resting place 
beneath the waves. 

The explosion occurred in the widest part of the river, where 
none but the most expert swimmers could reach the shore. 
Some sank never to rise when they had almost reached the 
banks. Some who had reached them, and succeeded in catching 
hold of the limbs of the bushes, unable longer to sustain them- 

20 



ISO SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

selves above water, relaxed their grip, sank out of sight, and 
were never seen again. Some floated down pas! Memphis, and 
by their cries, attracting the attention of the boats at the 
wharf, were saved. 

Immediately alter the explosion, (lie flames, spreading rapid- 
ly, enveloped the Sultana in a sheet of tire. The scene pre- 
sented by the light of the burning vessel was horrid beyond the 
power ol language to describe. Two thousand persons were in 
the water engaged in a desperate struggle for life. The screams 
and cries for help, when there was no arm to save, was enough 
to curdle the blood with horror. Amid the babble of screams 
and shouts, wen- distinguished the cries of children and bahe.s. 
In that sea ol drowning humanity, were bride and groom on 
their wedding tour; families consisting of fathers, mothers and 
children, returning from or making visits to friends ; and sold- 
iers who had fought gallantly on many a hard contested field of 
battle , and had suffered the tortures of the damned in rebel 
pi ison pens in 1 he south. 

Snch di lasters bring out prominertly the strongest and weak- 
est traits of character. With the women and children the 
conflict was soon over. The most of them immediately sank on 
reaching the water and never again cam e to the surface. Bui 
hundreds of the men kept up for hours .a gallant buttle fur 
life. Soldiers who had open defied death on the field, were not 
t'i lie vanquished in a moment — not even by the great Missis- 
sippi. Such as managed to keep afloat, were picked up by 
boats hastening to th < rescue. 

The steamer Bostona, on her way down the river, and about 
a mile distant at the lime of the explosion, hurried to the scene, 
and succeeded in saving many who otherwise would have 
peri bed. 

The ironclad gun Inat, Essex, left the wharf at Memphis, on 

ring ol the catastrophe, and steamed rapidly toward the 

■a reek. The morning was so dark that it was possible to see 

but a lew ad. The gun-boat was gui led to the spot by 



BURNING OE THE SULTANA. 1S7 

the cries of those struggling in the water. She saved sixty 
persons from a watery giave. 

The Sultana burned to the water's edge, and sank on the 
Arkansas side of the river. 

All of the twenty-two hundred persons, except six hundred, 
who thronged the decks of the Sultana the day before, with 
visions of a happy and prosperous future of life before them, 
slept at the bottom of the great Mississippi, while over their 
quiet bodies, its floods rolled, on their ceaseless journey to the 
sea. 

The following are the names of the members of the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, lost with the Sultana, that we have been able 
to get. 

Daniel W. Doner, John Q. Paxton, and Costan Porter, of 
company E; William S. Corbin, of company G; William Bar- 
rick and Elisha Swords, of company I; Augustus Barrett and 
Francis M. Elkins, of company K; William M. Thomson, of 
company M. 

Robert B. Armstrong, of company I, was the only member of 
the regiment who escaped. 



Chapter XIV. 

DICK DAVIS, TIIE GUERRILLA. 

Nature of Guerrillas — Dick Davis, his early life — //< enters the 
Confederate service under John Morgan — Capiuied on Ohio, 
while there as a spy, steals a horse to effect las escape — Captur- 
ed and put in jail and indicted for horse stealing — The cast 

dismissed on condition that he enlisted in the Union army- 
He avails himself of the first opportunity to desert — Turns up 
as a Guerrilla Chief near Memphis — Captured mo! confined 
in the Irving Block at Memphis, but escapes — Sis faJd of op- 
erations and mode of warfare — Captured by Capt. iSkelton, and 
u<tain confined in the Irving Block — Attempts to escape by the. 
assista7ice of his sweetheart, but is foiled by the vigilance of the 
officers and guards — His pirsonal appearance — His trial and 
conviction — The murder of Capt. Somcrs and. men — His death 
sentence — He bravely meets his fate — The Charges and. Speci- 
fications on which he was tried, and findings of the Court. 

"We give in this chapter an interesting account of the trial an d 
execution of " Dick Davis the Guerrilla," as written by General 
Thomas M. Browne, soon after their occurrence. As General 
Browne was President of the Military Commission that tried 
Davis, the following may be relied upon as authentic: 

"It is an old maxim, that occasions make men, and taking it 
to be true, what an opportunity this war has afforded to almost 
every man, to write his name in the world's history ! But com- 
paratively few have 'snatched the golden moment,' and yel ii 
has been prolific in the d svelopement of the various traits of hu- 
man character. II ome a stupendous tragedy, in which 
every east and type of actor may have his role, and play his 
part. It has made its Alexanders who have fought but to con- 
quer; its heroes, who, like Themistocles, have risen from obscu- 
rity to renown; and it has hail its martyrs, who, like Marco Bo- 
Karris, hav*. sacrifi< tnd willingly upon the 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 189 

altar of their country, to secure the nation's triumph, and liber- 
ty to its people. 

This giant political convulsion has not only brought General 
and Statesman to the surface, but it has exhibited another phase 
of human nature, which, although daring and adventurous, will 
perhaps, seldom find its place in the history of these times. I 
refer to a class of Banditti, who, taking advantage of the univer- 
sal chaos into which society has been thrown by this war, are 
now committing crimes of robbery and bloodshed all over the 
south-west. They take " Dick Turpin" as their model, possess- 
ing his courage to do wrong, but none of his excentric magnan- 
imity. Possessing none' of that high-toned chivalric feeling that 
desires foemen worthy of their steel, they wage warfare upon 
the unwary and defenseless. Stimulated by no feeling of honor, 
they fight for no flag, no nationality, but solely for booty. They 
seek no open battle-field upon which, on equal terms, to break a 
lance with their foe, like the ancient Knights-Errant, but hide 
themselves in ambush and entrap their victims like savages. In 
times of peace they are guerrilla bullies, thieves and loafer-*, and 
'in war, not having sufficient manhood to espouse either side of 
the quarrel, they take advantage of circumstances and turn 
highwayman and freebooters. Notwithstanding all this, the 
lives of these men are more or less exciting and romantic. Fre- 
quently they pass through dangers that would try the courage 
of the stoutest heart. Of the Guerrilla Chiefs who have spread 
consternation and alarm in Western Tennessee, none have acted 
so conspicuous a part as he, a sketch of whose life I propose to 
give. 

Dick Davis WTiS born in the city of Maysville, Kentucky, I 
should judge about a quarter of a century ago. His baptismal 
name was John B. Bollinger, but his father dying while he was 
yet a child, and his mother marrying a man by the name of 
Davis, he subsequently was given or assumed the name of his 
Btep-father, and went by the name of 'Dick Davis.' It is said 
that his step -father, mother and a oiater reside at this time in 



190 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

the city of Cincinnati. At the breaking out of this rebellion, he 
was a resident of Mason county, Kentucky, and engaged in buy- 
ing and selling stock, in which business he was accumulating 
some property. Naturally of a wayward, unsettled and nervous 
disposition, be was not slow in gratifying his desire for adven- 
ture by engaging in the war. He joined a Confederate cavalry 
regiment in Kentucky, under the command of that chivalric 
raider and horse-thief, John Morgan. By bis reckless daring 
and unscrupulous cunning, be soon secured the confidence of 
that partisan chieftain. He participated in most of Morgan's 
raids in Kentucky, accompanied him in his mad-cap ti ur through 
Indiana and Ohio, in the summer of 1863, and was one of the 
few of that command that managed to escape and recrdss the 
Ohio at Burlington Island. He was an expert scout, knew the 
country thoroughly, and was much of his time employed in that 
service. Morgan sent him several times into the States north of 
the Ohio as a spy, and he never failed to return with informa- 
tion valuable to the rebels. Just before that grand scare — the 
demonstration of Kirby Smith on Cincinnati — Dick had been in 
that city and reported its defenseless condition to that General. 
With this information the Confederate General thought the 
Queen City an easy prize, and such, indeed, it would have been 
had not unexampled promptness and energy been displayed in 
the preparations for its defence. That the city was not sacked 
and burned is almost wholly owing to the rapid 'and numerous 
response made by the 'squirrel hunters and minute men' of 
Ohio and Indiana, who rallied to its rescue. While on one of his 
secret missions into Ohio, he. was suspected by some of being con- 
nected with the rebel army. Hearing of these suspicions, and 
tearing arrest, he concluded to return South, and putting into 
practice the lessons he had learned so well from his leader, help- 
ed himself to a tine horse belonging to a friend in the neighbor- 
hood, without even thanking the owner. He was pursued, cap- 
tured, thrown into jail, indicted by the grand jury, and was 
about being brought to trial, when, at the instance of friends, 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 191 

the prosecutor was induced to enter a nolle prosequi in the ease 
upon condition that he would enlist in the Union army. Upon 
being released from durance vile, he volunteered in an Ohio reg- 
iment, accompanied it to the field, but soon afterwards deserted 
and returned to the rebels. He was present and participated in 
Van Dorn's attack on Corinth, at the time the lamented Gen. 
Hackelman was killed. Shortly after this, Dick turned up in 
the vicinity of Memphis, as the leader of a guerrilla band. He 
was subsequently captured by the federal forces, and confin- 
ed on the charge of being a robber and a spy, in the military 
bastile, Irving Block, in the above named city; but, before be 
was brought to trial, he managed to escape, through the com- 
plicity of the guard who was placed over him. Having escaped 
from prison he rejoined his fellow marauders and resumed his old 
occupation of highwayman. 

His field of operations extended from the Cold Water on the 
south to the Wolf and Hatchie rivers on the north, and from the 
federal picket lines near Memphis eastward to the junction of 
the Memphis and Cbarleston with tbe Mississippi Central rail- 
road. This area embraces the villages of White Station, Ger- 
mantown, Moscow, Lagrange, and Grand Junction, on the line 
of the first named railroad, and the base of all the traveled roads 
leading into the Bluff City. He was continually changing the ren- 
dezvous of his band, but generally kept it in the bottoms of 
Nonconnah creek or Wolf river. His strategy was so admirable 
that he out-witted and out-generaled every scout or party sent 
to capture him. For months he lived, robbed and murdered 
with impunity, almost within the Federal lines, and within ear- 
shot of the federal army. He was enabled the more effectually 
to elude his pursuers, by the fact that he so managed it as to se- 
cure the silence of the citizens in the country infested by his 
band. The friendship of some he secured by acts of kindness, 
others were silent because of their sympathy with him and his 
occupation of butchery, while the majority feared to disclose the 
hiding place of one who possessed the power and the will, when 



192 DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 

provoked, to inflict upon them the most hellish cruelty. To in- 
cur his indignation was equivalent to losing their property, and 
perhaps their lives. His band consisted of from fifteen to twen- 
ty men — young, active, and as reckless as himself. They were 
all well mounted, armed with a pair of revolvers each and a car- 
bine. His men were principally deserters, some from the rebel 
and some from the Union army. Of the many incidents of his 
chequered career, but few that are well authenticated, have 
reached me. All I know is that he frequently relieved citizens 
coming into and going out of the city of their money, watches, 
jewelry, horses and other valuables. His men and himself had 
strong bartering proclivities, and frequently indulged in trading 
their old hats, shoes and coats, with some city gentleman who 
might happen to be caught with articles of that kind superior to 
their own. It is said in these exchanges they always got the 
better end of the bargain. 

In his exploits as highwayman, he made no distinction be- 
tween loyal and disloyal, white and black, nor did he respect 
age, sex or condition. Secreting himself and baud in the 
bushes, in some well-selected spot by the road-side, he awaited 
the approach of his victim, and suddenly appearing before him, 
would greet him with that blood-chilling banditti salutation, 
"your money or your life," at the same time, adding force to the 
suggestion, by thrusting into the face of the bewildered and 
astonished traveler an enlarged and improved edition of Colt's 
six-barreled "persuader." In this way he armed, mounted and 
equipped, and subsisted his band. One thing may be said to 
his credit, he seldom, if ever, disturbed private houses. The 
most desperate of his enterprises, and the most daring of his 
exploits, were directed against the Union army and soldiery. 
He would creep on a dark night through the picket lines, and 
steal mules and horses from under the very noses of the guards. 
He would ambuscade and kill patroling parties — steal upon and 
shoot down a vidette or a picket. At times he was as wary 
and stealthy as an Indian — then again he would dash upon an 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 193 

outpost or reserve, with the recklessness and audacity of a 
Mamaluke or Cossack. In firing upon railroad trains he 
seemed to take a peculiar pleasure. His men, from some hiding 
place, would deliver a volley, upon a passing train well filled 
with unsuspecting troops, and before it could be stopped and 
the men put in position for action, the guerrillas would be on 
their horses and scampering speedily away to their coverts in 
the bottoms. In this way they killed three and wounded some 
ten Federal soldiers at one time, between Germantown and 
Colliersville, during the summer of lS6d. I shall not now re- 
cite particular instances of crime as it would make this sketch 
much too voluminous. 

HIS CAPTURE. 

He was captured by Capt. J. W. Skelton and a detachment 
of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, near the Cold Water, Missis- 
sippi, some twenty miles south-east of Memphis, on the 2d of 
October, 1S64. The Captain, in command of some forty men, 
was sent on a scouting expedition in the direction of Holly 
Springs, and when near Anderson's plantation, his advance 
guard was fired upon. He immediately ordered a charge, 
taking the lead himself, and as he passed out of the woods into 
the open ground beyond, a man dressed in the grey jacket of 
the Confederate army was discovered making the best possible 
time across the fields toward the adjoining woods. The Captain 
gave immediate chase, leaping his horse over the intervening 
fences, and was soon upon him. Before, however, he was over- 
taken, he had slackened his pace, and was rapidly reloading his 
carbine. The Captain putting his pistol in uncomfortable 
proximity to the fellow's head, demanded his surrender, to 
which he coolly replied, "I guess I will have to surrender, but 
d — n it, I thought I could load and kill you before you came 
up, but you was too quick for me." He was armed with a navy 
revolver, and a Spencer's breechdoading eight-shooting carbine. 
While Captain Skelton was engaged in making this capture, his 
men had pursued and taken three others of the band. The 

21 



194 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

first of these captives gave his name as Rogers, and subsequently 
as J. W. Smith, and professed to be a private soldier in the 2d 
Missouri rebel cavalry. These prisoners were delivered on the 
same evening, to the General commanding, the Captain little 
thinking at the time that he had captured the veritable " Dick 
Davis," whose name was a terror to all travelers and scouting 
parties, and who had successfully eluded the vigilance of the 
United States forces for months and almost years. Yet 
such was the case. "When he was sent to his old quarters in the 
Hotel Delrving, he was at once recognized by several officers 
who had become acquainted with him during his previous 
confinement. 

HE ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE. 

A prison cell was a narrow abode for one like " Dick Davis," 
who had been acustomed to live " with heaven for a canopy, 
and a whole wide world for a habitation." Although pinioned 
to the floor with irons, in a strong prison, surrounded by a 
strong and ever-wakeful guard, and environed on all sides by 
an army picketing the whole circumference of the city, he did 
not despair, but deliberately and adroitly planned an escape. 
No sooner had he matured his plan, than he attempted to put it 
into execution. Amongst those who had been summoned as 
witnesses to Dick's defence, was the daughter of a planter, 

living near Colliersville, a Miss Anna T , who, dame rumor 

whispered, was his affianced bride. She was indeed a beautiful 
and captivating woman, of about twenty summers, If I was 
writing romance. I might indulge in a more particular descrip- 
tion of the bandit's effianced, but for the purposes of this 
sketch, it is quite sufficient for the reader to know that she was, in 
common parlance, pretty. Being allowed, under the circum- 
stances, to have an occasional interview with the prisoner, she 
became his confident, and cheerfully ofFered her assistance in 
forwarding his effort to escape. He wrote his plans with the 
minuteness of a general detailing a plan of campaign, and 
placed them in her keeping. She was to be the chief instru- 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 195 

ment in procuring the means by which he hoped to relax the 
federal grasp. As a starting point, she must procure an intro- 
duction to a soldier on guard; her grace and beauty were to 
captivate and bind him, until submissive to her will, he would 
gladly do her every bidding. Next in the order of preparation, 
she was to get the means and procure to be made, two small 
saws, from watch-spring steel, two saw bows, and buy a small 
mirror and an overcoat. The saws and bows were to be secreted 
between the glass and back of the mirror, the mirror to be 
placed in the overcoat pocket, and the beauiy-smitten guard 
was to be induced to pass in the overcoat to the prisoner. In 

addition to this, Miss T was directed to purchase two 

bottles, one to be filled with pure whisky, the other with whisky 
drugged with laudanum. His object in directing the purchase 
of the "pure whisky," was not stated in his letter of instructions, 
but the adulterated article was to be administered to the soldiers 
on guard, to make "sleep peaceful and their slumbers more 
profound." The project went swimmingly on — the introduction 
was secured, the saws and bows manufactured, the overcoat and 
other necessaries purchased — but alas ! it is as truthful as poetic 
that "there's a many a slip twixt the cup and the lip," for in- 
stead of the fair Hebe getting her sundries into the prison, as she 
anticipated, she suddenly and mysteriously got there he) self. 
The officers of the '" Block," by some means or other, kept track 
of this embryo conspiracy, and "nipped it in the very nick. of 
time." The imprisonment of his sweetheart shattered his last 
hope, and without another effort "to flee the wrath to come," he 
meekly and submissively accepted his fate. 

HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 

On the 10th day ~ of October, 1S64, I\took^my seat as Presi- 
dent of the Military Commission at Memphis. The rattling 
of chains along the corridor, the regular and heavy step of the 
guard, admonished me that a prisoner was on his way to the 
court-room, and in a moment afterwards, "Dick Davis" stood 
before me. He was hand-cuffed — a chain sufficiently long to 



19G SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

allow hirn to take an ordinary step, prevented one leg from run- 
ning away from the other. To eaoh ankle was attached other 
chains, a yard or more in length, at the ends of which were 
fixed twelve pound solid shot, .so that wherever he might go, he 
was compelled to carry with him this immense weight of metal. 
I have in my time, seen many in iron?, but never before had I 
seen one so thoroughly manacled. His personal appearance 
disappointed me. From his reputation — from the deeds of 
savage ferocity attributed to him — I had concluded that he was 
a giant in stature, and the personation of the very devil in 
feature. On both points I was mistaken in my conjectures. He 
was a small man, scarcely five feet seven in height, and weigh- 
ing only one hundred and thirty live pounds. He was neatly 
and trimly built, stood as straight as an arrow, and was evident- 
ly an active and muscular man. His foot was small — so small, 
that a woman might have envied it. The expression of his 
countenance was by no means disagreeable. His forehead was 
well developed, wide at the apex, but considerably depressed at 
the temples. He had a luxuriant growth of hair, of dark- 
auburn, closely cut; wore side whiskers, without mustache or 
goatee. The most noticible features in his whole physiognamy, 
were his eyes and eyebrows, the first of which were large, clear, 
dark and flashing — the latter heavy and projecting, and extend- 
ing continuously from the outer corner of one eye to tint of the 
other. Nothing marred the harmony of his face so much as his 
nose, which was thick and puggish, like that of a bull-terrior, 
and the basilar portion of his head — his jaws and chin — which 
were quite heavy, showing a strong development of the animal. 
His age appeared to be about twenty-six years. 

He was dressed in a grey jacket, brown pants, drab hat, 
flannel shirt and neat fitting boots. 

Daring his protracted trial of over two months duration, his 
deportment in the court-room was entirely decorous; while, he 
exhibited none of the accomplishments of the refined gentleman, 
nor the blandishments of the fop, neither did he display the 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 197 

coarseness or vulgarity of the ruffian. His manners were easy 
and respectful. To the very last, he manifested the utmost con- 
fidence in his acquittal. To the evidence of the witnesses he 
listened attentively, made suggestions to his counsel during 
their examination, but never moved a muscle, even when the 
most revolting crimes were attributed to him. His language 
was generally correct and unaffected, and contained none of the 
"niggerisms" peculiar to the southern dialect. He wrote a neat 
hand — spelled his words correctly — showing his education to be 
above the average. 

1IIS TRIAL. 

His trial commenced on the 11th day of October, and was 
concluded on the 15th of December. The charges upon which 
he was arraigned were, for "being a guerrilla, and carrying on 
irregular, illegal and unauthorized warfare against the Govern- 
ment of the United States." I shall not attempt to give even a 
synopsis of the huge mass of testimony given in the case. 
One instance only of savage and brutal atrocity, abundantly 
established by the evidence, have I time to give, 

The murder of Captain Somcrs and men. 

On the 10th of June, 18G4, it will be remembered, our forces 
suffered an overwhelming and most humiliating defeat at the 
hands of the rebels, under the command of Forrest, at Briee's 
CrossvRoads, Mississippi. Our army was demoralized and 
broken into fragments, and fled from the field more like a mob 
than an organized troop. On the retreat, many of the infantry 
threw away their knapsacks and cartridge-boxes, and broke 
their guns, to enable them to make more speedy their flight 
before a victorious and pursuing enemy. Neither company nor 
regimental formations were kept up, but to a considerable extent 
every one thought only of his own personal safety, and sought 
to secure it by Hying speedily to the defences at Memphis. 

During this retreat, and on the loth day of June, Captain 
Somers, Sergeant Mitchell, Privates Panky, Parks, Guernes, and, 



19S SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

two others whose names are unknown, all of whom belonged to 
Illinois regiments, had reached a point on the Memphis and 
Charleston railroad, two miles west of Colliersville, and within 
twenty-four miles of the city. They were unarmed, foot-sore, 
almost famished by hunger, and exhausted by a march of over 
a hundred miles. They had almost reached a place of safety, 
and hope was buoyant within them. They expected 
soon, no doubt, to bivouac on their old camping grounds, under 
the protecting shadows of the guns of Fort Pickering, and 
there recount with their comrades who had escaped from that 
bloody and disastrous field, the story of their adventures, their 
flight and their escape. They little dreamed of the dread doom 
that awaited them — that five of their little band, in a brief 
hour from then, would lay dead in the thicket by the road-side, 
and the sixth be crippled and maimed for life. But I must pass 
to the sequal. Just before them lay Dick Davis and his band in 
ambush, and as these weary and worn soldiers passed, they 
were greeted with a volley and a yell that to them, sounded as 
if "Pandemonium had opened wide its infernal gates" and 
turned loose on earth a hundred fiends. No shot took effect, 
but they were at once charged upon by the guerrillas. Being 
unarmed, overpowered by numbers, unable to run, no alterna- 
tive was left Captain Somers and his men but to surrender. 
This they did, thinking, doubtless, they had fallen into the 
hands of a generous and magnanimous enemy, by whom they 
would be treated as prisoners of war. 

After their capture they were immediately ^hurried into the 
woods, robbed of their money, rings, coats and hats. This 
accomplished, their captors took them by a by-path, to a place 
in a thicket of wood, two miles south of the railroad, where the 
paity halted. The captives, with the exception of Captain 
Somers — who laid down on the leaves — took their seats side by 
side on a log. Here Dick left them under the guard of two 
men, and with the rest of his band retired a few paces and held 
a consultation. The brutal purpose of that consultation was 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 109 

soon made manifest. Returning to his prisoners, Dick ordered 
Captain Somers to take a seat on the log beside his comrades, 
which was immediately done. Stepping before them he said to 
them but a few brief words, but they were words of dreadful im- 
port. The heartless and piratical words. "Boys, you must all go 
overboard," was the laconic sentence of death passed by the 
guerrilla chief upon these helpless and defenceless men. The 
protestations, piteous supplications, and entreaties of the poor 
soldiers failed to touch any chord of sympathy in the robber's 
heart. An elderly man, of his own band — one of those who 
had guarded the prisoners, attempted to interpose in their be- 
half, but to no purpose. In a moment, ten grim executioners 
were in front of the doomed, and with revolvers, at the short 
distance of three paces, poured a volley of lead into their very 
bosoms. Somers, Panky, Mitchel, and the two unknown 
soldiers, fell forward, dead. But He who shapes the destiny of 
the universe, by a mysterious providence, permitted Parks and 
Guernes to live, as if it was His divine purpose that they should 
be instrumental in bringing this inhuman monster to merited 
punishment. At the moment the command "fire" was given, 
Parks threw himself backwards over the log and escaped unhurt, 
and at the same instant Guernes started to run, but was less 
fortunate than his comrade, for in his flight he was the recipient 
of two bullets, one in his side, and the other in his arm — the 
latter one causing the amputation of his arm above the elbow. 
They were both pursued some distance and repeatedly shot at 
without further injury. The tragic fate of their companions in 
arms, which they had just witnessed, made them forget their 
fatigue and hunger, and lent a desperate energy to their flight. 
On the same night they fell in with other fugitives from the 
battle field, and subsequently arrived safely at Memphis. 

We must leave the murderers and the slain together, as we 
can trace them for the present no further. Of the 
fate of Somers and his men, all that is known beyond what has 
been stated, is, that about the 1st of July, Lieut. Charles H. 



200 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALttY. 

Hare, with a detachment of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, 
Visited the spot, found the bodies of five Union soldiers, 
stripped, putrid, and unburied. He had these remains removed 
to a place near the railroad, where they now lie beneath the 
shade of a little oak, buried in one grave, symbol of the fact 
that they fell in one cause and in a common butchery. 

Here I must drop the curtain over this tale of blood. For 
fiendish atrocity, it has scarcely a parallel in the history of these 
times. It was a cold-blooded and inhuman butchery of defence- 
less men, against whom, these outlaws, could have no malice — - 
they were strangers, and had done the banditti no wrong. 

THE SENTENCE OF DEATH. 

The Commission found Dick guilty of all the charges pre- 
ferred against him, and affixed the penally of death by hanging. 
This was on the 15th of December; on the 19th, Gen. Dana 
approved the proceedings and sentence of the court, and directed 
the execution to take place on the 23d of the same month. 
Truly, it was a brief time in which to prepare to die — but it was 
much longer than that allotted poor Somers and his men. He 
received information of his sentence with apparent unconcern, 
immediately assumed his true name, and commenced prepar- 
ations for death. He wrote to his friends, instructing them 
what disposition to make of his property, and in what manner 
to pay his debts. He made but one bequest, and that was of 
his favorite race horse, which had been his companion in his ex- 
peditions of blood, ami that, he directed to be given to his Friend, 

Miss Anna T . To the members of his band he wrote a 

touching farewell, requesting them not to avenge his death by 
retaliating upon innocent men. These letters were all read by 
me, and were subsequently forwarded by the authorities through 
the lines. He had an interview with one of his counsel, E. B. 
Woodward, Esq., on the day before his execution, and appeared 
perfectly calm, talking of his approaching death as a matter of 
little consequence at most. Of the Court by which he was tried 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 201 

and condemed, and of the witnesses against him, he spoke no 
word of bitterness or reproach. 

THE GALLOWS. 

At a little after noon, on the 23d day of December, Dick 
Davis was taken from the " Block," placed in an ambulance, and 
conveyed under guard to the gallows within Fort Fickering. 
He was accompanied by his spiritual adviser, a Catholic Priest, 
who had remained with him during the preceeding night. The 
day was beautiful, bright and clear. The troops of the garrison 
and a large assemblage of officers and citizens were present to 
witness the departure of the noted outlaw to another world. In 
company with the priest, he ascended the steps of the scaffold 
to the platform with a bold, firm step. The Provost Martial 
read to him the charges, finding and sentence of the court, to 
which he listened attentively, but unmoved. This over, he con- 
versed some moments in an undertone with the priest, and then 
they engaged in prayer. After prayer he signified to the execu- 
tioner his readiness to try the fearful ordeal of death. While 
the rope was being adjusted about his neck, he stood erect, ex- 
hibiting no signs of emotion or fear. The cap was drawn over 
his face, the trap sprung, and the guerrilla hung suspended be- 
tween heaven and earth. Although he fell full five feet, his 
neck was not dislocated, as anticipated. For a few moments af- 
ter his fall there was no motion except a slight pendulum-like 
vibration of the body, that was soon succeeded by a spasmodic 
shrugging of the shoulders, then there was a quivering of the 
limbs, and then — Dick Davis, the Guerrilla Chief, was no more. 
His spirit had passed from earth and stood before its God. 
Indeed, 

" It is a fearful thing to see the strong man die — 

The stripling meet his fate." 

An execution on the scaffold may be witnessed once, but that 
man must have a strange taste or a hard heart who would will- 
ingly see the second. But I have finished my sketch — Dick 
Davis has met his reward. " That measure he meted out to 

22 



202 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

others has been measured to hirn again." That his sentence 
was just — that he deserved to die a felon's death — no one for a 
moment doubts; but I pray fervently that Providence may so 
shape my life that I may never again be called upon to weigh 
justice in the balances against human life." 

Below are the charges and specifications on which Dick Davis 
was tried, with the findings and sentence of the court, and the 
approval thereof by General Dana : 

Head-Quarters Department of Mississippi, "I 
Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 19, 1864. J 

General Court- Martial Orders \ 
No. 1. J 

1. Before a Military Commission which convened at Mem- 
phis, Tennessee, pursuant to Special Orders No. 163, ext. 1, from 
Head- Quarters District, West Tennessee, dated Memphis, Tenn. 
October 8, 1864, and of which Lieut. Col. Thomas M. Browne, 
7th Indiana Cavalry, was President, was arraigned and tried 

DICK DAVIS ALIAS J. W. SMITH. 

Charge 1st: Being a Guerrilla. 

Specification 1st : — In this, that the said Dick Davis alias J. 
W. Smith, confederating and combining with divers parties who 
sire unknown, did in and during the months of January, Febru- 
ary, March, April, May, June, July, August and September, 
1864, levy and carry on irregular and unauthorized warfare 
upon loyal citizens, and against United States soldiers, and did 
go about the country armed, and commit divers acts of crime 
and violence. All this in and near Shelby county, Tennessee, 
and Marshal and DeSoto counties, Miss., and within the Milita- 
ry District of West Tennessee. 

/Specification 2d : — In this, that the said Dick Davis alias J. 
W. Smith, being the leader and chief of a band of guerrillas 
known and styled "Dick Davis' men," or "band," did levy and 
carry on irregular and unauthorized warfare against the United 
States of America. All this during the months and year afore- 
said, and in Shelby county, Tenn., and Marshal and DeSoto 
counties, Miss., and within the Military District of West Ten- 
nessee. 

Specification od: — In this, that the said Dick Davis alias J. 



DICK DAVIS, THE GUERRILLA. 203 

W. Smith, did levy irregular, independent and unauthorized 
warfare against loyal inhabitants of the United States. All this 
during the whole of the year 1S63, and in the county of Shelby, 
Tennessee, and DeSoto and Marshal counties, Mississippi, and 
within the Military District of West Tennessee. 

Specification 4th : — In this, that the said Dick Davis alias J. 
W. Smith, falsely representing himself to be a duly appointed 
soldier of the Confederate States of America, and confederating 
and conbining with divers and sundry parties unknown, did levy 
and wage irregular, independent and unauthorized warfare 
against the government of the United States — against United 
States soldiers. All this during the months of January, Febru- 
ary, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September, 
1864, in the counties of Shelby, Tenn., and DeSoto and Marshal, 
Miss., and within the Military District of West Tennessee. 

Charge 2d: Violation of the Rules of Civilized Warfare. 

Specification 1st: — In this, that the said Dick Davis alias J. 
W. Smith, confederating and combining with, and assuming to 
be the leader of divers and sundry persons, unknown ; the whole 
party being known and styled as "Davis' men," pretending to 
be in the service of the so-called Confederate States of America, 
did levy irregular and unauthorized warfare, in this, to-wit: 
By firing upon unarmed citizens and upon railroad trains, and 
did violently and willfully murder soldiers of the United 
States, after they had surrendered as prisoners of war. All 
this in the months of January, February, March, April, May, 
June, July, August and September, 1864, and in the counties of 
Shelby, Tenn., and Marshal and DeSoto, Miss., and within the 
Military District of West Tennessee. 

Specification 2d: — In this, that the said Dick Davis 'alias J. 
W. Smith, combining and confederating as aforesaid with 
divers other parties unknown, belonging to a party styled 
"Davis' Band," having captured Capt. Somers of the 108th Illi- 
nois Infantry, and Private Guernes, 113th Illinois Infantry, and 
four other federal soldiers whose names are unknown, during 
the retreat of the United States forces from Guntown, Miss., and 
held them as prisoners of war, for about four hours, did without 
provocation or cause, deliberately, willfully, and with malice, 
kill and murder the said Capt. Somers and three of the said 
soldiers. This on or about the 12th day of June, 1864, near 
Germantown, Tennessee, and within the Military District of West 
Tennessee. 



204 SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY. 

To each and all of which Charges and Specifications the ac- 
cused pleaded — Not Guilty. 

The Court after due deliberation do find the accused, Dick 
Davis alias J. W. Smith, as follows : 

Of 1st Specification to the 1st Charge — Guilty. 

Of 2d Specification to the 1st Charge — Guilty. 

Of 3d Specification to the 1st Charge — Guilty. 

Of 4th Specification to. the 1st Charge — Guilty. 

Of 1st Charge— Guilty. 

Of 1st Specification to 2d Charge — Guilty. 

Of 2d Specification to 2d Charge — Guilty. 

Of 2d Charge— Guilty. 

And do therefore sentence him, the said Dick Davis, alias J. 
W. Smith, to be hanged by the neck until dead, at such time and 
place as the Commanding General may direct; two thirds of the 
members of the Court, concur in the above finding and sentence. 

II. The findings in this case are approved, except as to the 
alledged "firing upon unarmed citizens and railroad trains," and 
the alledged acts of guerrilla warfare committed prior to June 
1864, of which there is not sufficient proof. 

The evidence elicited is, however, amply sufficient to sustain 
the remaining portions of the Specifications as well as the 
charges. The prisoner, whether his name be Davis or Smith, is 
convicted of being a Guerrilla and violating the rules of civilized 
warfare, and no connection which he may have had with the 
army of the so-called Confedeiate States, can screen him from 
the punishment due his crimes. 

The sentence is confirmed; and the prisoner, Dick Davis alias 
J. W. Smith, will be hanged by the neck until he is dead, at 
Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday the 23d day of December, L864, 
between the hours of 10 a. m.. and 4 p. m., under the direction 
of the Provost Marshal General. 

By Order of Major General N. J. T. Dana, 

T. H. Harris, Assistant Adjutant General. 



PART III. 

Sketches of officers of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry Volunteers. 

LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAMUEL E. W. SIMONSON. 

At the time the 7th Indiana cavalry was organized, Col. Si- 
monson was a captain in the 4th Indiana cavalry. On account 
of his known ability and experience as a cavalry officer, he was 
selected by Governor Morton for one of the majors of the 7th 
cavalry. His valuable services in that regiment, prove the wis- 
dom of the Governor's choice. With the exception of Grierson's 
raid through Mississippi in the winter of 1864 -'65, he was with 
the regiment in all its campaigns, raids, expeditions, marches 
and battles. In the expedition to West Point, and the battle 
of Okolona his experience as an officer was of incalculable value 
to the regiment. By his cool, undaunted courage, he inspired 
the men with his own feelings of confidence. At the sabre 
charge at Ivy Farm, he commanded a battalion of the regiment 
held in reserve to support the rest of the regiment engaged in 
the charge. Although not actually in that part of the engag- 
ment, yet he occupied a position of as much danger as if he had 
been. There was no point on the field at that place, where the 
balls of the enemy did not reach. Nearly as many men were 
killed or wounded in the reserve, as there were in the column 
making the charge. 

At the battle of Brice's Cross-Roads, Mississippi, June 10th, 
1864, he proved himself a hero. He was always found where 
danger was greatest. In the last of that battle, Col. Browne, 
on account of his wound, was not able to remain longer with the 
regiment. The command, therefore, devolved on Major Simon- 
son. He managed the regiment in the remainder of the battle 
with great skill, and withdrew it from the field without losing a 
man as prisoner, when the rebels were pushing forward confi- 
dent of capturing the greater part of it. iVfter the army was in 



206 MAJOR JAMES H. CARPENTER. 

total rout, he held it under a fire from the concentrated batter- 
ies of the enemy, directed at it and the flying infantry. On the 
retreat that followed he maintained perfect order and discipline 
in the ranks of the regiment. 

He commanded the detachment of the regiment partici- 
pating in the Missouri campaign in the fall of 1864. 
In the battle of the Osage, the regiment won the en- 
thusiastic admiration of General Pleasanton. The glory it ac- 
quired on that brilliant field, was due in a great measure to its 
intrepid commander who inspired it with his own courage, and 
led it in the charge on the enemy's lines. Old veterans who 
were in that battle describe it as the grandest sight they ever 
saw in war. The field was a prairie, peculiarly adapted to the 
operations of cavalry. The day was pleasant and the sun shone 
brightly. The rebels were drawn up in line of battle faced from 
the river. Opposite them in charging columns were Pleasanton's 
cavaliers. When with gleaming sabres they dashed on the rebel 
lines, the scene must have been the sublime of war. To have 
participated in it as a private was an honor; to have led a reg- 
iment in it, that captured two guns and over a hundred prison- 
ers, glory enough for any man of reasonable ambition. 

After the reorganization of the regiment, Major Simonson was 
promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and served with it as such, until 
it was mustered out. After the war he returned to Charleston 
in Clark county, Indiana, where he still resides. 

MAJOR JAMES H. CARrENTER. 

James H. Carpenter was born in Harrison county, West Vir- 
ginia, on the 31st day of October, 1822. His father, Lewis R. 
Carpenter, was a farmer of that county. Lewis R. Carpenter 
removed with his family to Marion county, Ohio, where he en- 
gaged in farming. 

James H. Carpenter remained with his father on the farm un- 
til 1813. On the loth of November of that year, he left home 
and went to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and began the studyof medicine. 
He remained there until 1845, excepting during the winter 



Major James h. carpenter. 207 

months, when he engaged in teaching school, to obtain the 
means of defraying his expenses, while studying medicine. 

In 1845, he went to Goshen, Elkhart county, Indiana, and 
taught one term of school. On the 24th of February, 1846, he 
formed a copartnership with Dr. Sutton of Goshen, Indiana, and 
began there the practice of medicine. 

On the 27th of October of that year, he went to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, to take his last course of medical lectures, and in the 
Spring of 1847, graduated in medicine. 

He continued in the practice of that profession at Goshen, 
Indiana, until the 15th of April, 1854, when he went to War- 
saw, Kosciusko county, Indiana, his present home, and began 
the study of law, under the instruction of the Hon. James S. 
Frazer, a very able lawyer, and at this time an ex-judge of the 
Supreme Court of Indiana. 

In the Fall of 1854, he was admitted, at Warsaw, to practice 
law. He, however, did not enter on the practice of that pro- 
fession until the Spring of 1855, since which time he has been in 
active practice, except the time he served in the army during the 
rebellion, and nearly three years since the close of the war, when 
he was on the Bench as Judge of the Common Pleas Court. 

On the 30th of January, 1849, at Marion county, Ohio, he 
married Miss Minerva J. Anderson, an estimable lady, by whom 
he has an interesting family of healthy and intelligent children, 
consisting of three girls and four boys. 

In 1861, after the outbreak of the rebellion, he recruited two 
companies of volunteers for the 30th Indiana Regiment of In- 
fantry. But on his return home from Indianapolis, he suffered, 
in a railroad accident, a compound fracture of his right thigh 
bone, which prevented him entering, at that time, the military 
service of the country, and which left him a cripple for life. 

In 1863, having recovered from this misfortune, he recruited 
Company I, of the 7th Indiana cavalry, and was commissioned 
and mustered its Captain. He entered on active duty with the 
regiment. He was with it in its operations at Union City, and 



208 MAJOR JAMES H." CARPENTER. 

Jackson, Tennessee. He commanded his company in the expe- 
dition to West Point, Mississippi, and the battle of Okolona, 
February 22d, 1864. He led it in the sabre charge of the regi- 
ment at Ivy Farm, in the evening. He drove the rebels, and 
captured several prisoners, and saved from capture, the battery 
attached to the 4th Missouri cavalry, which had been abandon- 
ed by its supports, members of that regiment. He, individual- 
ly, captured two prisoners and sent them to the rear. Another, 
whom he pursued, refusing to surrender, he cut down with his 
sabre. He was about receiving the sword of a rebel officer who 
had surrendered, when discovering the wing of a rebel regiment 
but a few feet from him, he was obliged to let the prisoner go, 
and save himself from capture by a hasty retreat. During the 
afternoon, while on the retreat, he saw in the road a new curry- 
comb and brush that some one had dropped. Not seeing any 
good reason why they should be lost, he dismounted and 
picked them up, and strapped them on his saddle, and 
coolly remounted; the bullets, in the mean time, were flying 
about him like hail-stones. A rebel prisoner, captured by his 
company, seeing this performance, remarked that the Captain 
was the coolest man he ever saw under fire. This little incident 
illustrated his character for economy. He always guarded gov- 
ernment property from loss or waste, with the same care as he 
would if it had been his own. 

He accompanied the regiment, on its expedition to Tort 
Gibson, in July, 1SG4. He started with the detachment thai 
took part in the Missouri campaign in the fall of 1804, but 
returned and assumed command of the regiment at Memphis. 
For meritorious services, he was in October, 1S64, commissioned 
Major_of the. regiment and mustered as such k November 11th, 
18G4. On the 9th of January, 18G5, he was sent by General 
Dana to Louisville, Kentucky, to bring back a part of the regiment 
that had gone there, on its return from Missouri. He had per- 
mission to visit his home, which j he did, staying but two days. 
On his return to Louisville, pursuant to orders from General 




Major James H. Carpenter 



MAJOR JAMES H. CARPENTER. 209 

Upton, he reported at General Thomas' head-quarters, at East- 
port, Miss., and was sent by the latter to Memphis, with the 
request that Gen. Dana send the Seventh Indiana Cavalry to 
Louisville. This request was made on the supposition that part 
of the regiment was already there, and at the solicitation of 
Col. Winslow, who wanted to retain the regiment in his com- 
mand; but, the detachment of the regiment having returned 
fiom Louisville, the request was not complied with. 

On the 20th of March, 1805, Major Carpenter went on duty 
at Gen. Dana's head-quarters, as Judge-Advocate of a court- 
martial, but was soon afterwards detailed as Judge- Advocate of 
the Military District of West Tennessee. He served in that 
capacity till the 20th of August, 1865, when he was ordered to 
rejoin the regiment, which he did in due time, at Hempstead, 
Texas. 

On the consolidation of the regiment, which occurred soon 
after his return, he availed himself of the opportunity to return 
to his home, and was mustered out of the service. 

As a soldier, he was brave — as an officer, efficient — as a dis- 
ciplinarian, strict but just. He was an officer of good executive 
ability. 

On his return home, he was elected Judge of the Common 
Pleas Court, of the District embracing the county of Kosciusko, 
which position lie held until the Legislature in 1873, abolished 
those courts. As a Judge, he was able and upright, and had 
the confidence of the entire bar. 

After laying aside the ermine, he purchased an interest in the 
Northern Indianian, a weekly Republican newspaper of wide 
circulation, and became its sole editor. He discharged the 
arduous duties attaching to that position, while at the same 
time managing an extensive law practice, till after the State and 
Presidential election campaigns of 1876, commenced, when he 
sold his interest in the paper to Gen. Rube Williams, and retired 
from journalism. He now devotes his time exclusively to the 
practice of law. 

23 



210 MAJOR JOHN M. MOORE. 

This brave officer, at the time of his enlistment in the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, resided at Plymouth, in Marshall county, 
Indiana. 

He joined the regiment as 2d Lieutenant of company A, but 
was on the 27th of August, 1SG3, commissioned Captain of 
company H.j of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. 

He served with the regiment in every expedition in which it 
participated, except Grierson's raid through Mississippi, in the 
spring of 1865. 

On the expedition to West Point, in February, 1804, at 
Okolona, he had command of a detachment of the regiment, and 
pursuant to orders, burned a large amount of property, belong- 
ing to the rebel government, and destroyed several railroad 
bridges. In the evening he was joined by Lieut. Way, of com- 
pany B, who had gone north on the railroad, with another de- 
tachment, on a similar errand. The two commanders were on 
their way to rejoin the regiment, when they were fired upon by 
a body of rebels. Captain Moore immediately gave chase, and 
pursued them about two miles, when they made a stand behind 
a large white house, a short distance from the road. Captain 
Moore, with his command, charged up to the house, part going 
on one side, and pait on the other. 

The Captain was met at the corner of the house by the 
proprietor, an armed rebel, who fired his revolver at him. 
Expecting such tactics, the Captain, just as the rebel fired, 
threw himself flat on his horse, and the ball passed harmlessly 
over him. The rebel, thinking he had killed Moore, stepped 
out from the corner of the house to fire at another man, when 
Captain Moore, as quick as thought, fired his revolver at him, 
and brought him down. The rebel, in falling, fired his revolver 
again at the Captain, but without effect. The Captain's shot 
proved fatal, and the rebel expired in a few moments. While 
this encounter was taking place, a portion of the command, 



MAJOR JOHN M. MOORE. 211 

pursued the rest of the bushwhackers a mile or more into the 
woods. 

By the Captain's order the house was fired, and burned to the 
ground. When it became quiet after the skirmish, a voice from 
a log building was heard, calling for help. Captain Moore 
ordered the door broken down, when two members of the regi- 
ment, bound and lying on the floor, were discovered. They 
were speedily released, and stated, that the "bushwhackers" 
captured and put them there, with the information, that they 
intended to hang them before morning. 

Captain Moore then started for camp, but got on the wrong 
road, and did not discover his mistake until he got on to the 
rebel camp at Aberdeen. He rapidly retraced his steps, found 
the right road, and without further adventure, reached camp at 
a late hour at night. 

He commanded his company in the battle of Okolona, and 
bravely performed his duty. 

At the battle of Brice's Cross-Roads, Mississippi, he proved 
himself a hero. With but a handful of men, he repulsed 
repeated attacks of the rebels, and held his position until 
ordered to withdraw. He rendered important services on the 
retreat that followed that disastrous battle. • 

He managed with distinguished success, an expedition to 
Mound City and Marion, Arkansas, an account of which has 
already been given. 

He was in all the battles and skirmishes of the regiment, in 
the Missouri campaign. 

Before the battle of the Little Osage, he was placed, by order 
of General Pleasanton, in command of the baggage train. This 
did not suit a brave spirit like his, especially when there was a 
prospect of a battle. Pie put the train in charge of a sergeant, 
and joined his company, and led it, in the glorious sabre charge, 
in that engagement. He was severely reprimanded by the 
General, for abandoning the train without orders. Unquestion- 
ably the Captain did wrong, bat his fault is forgotten when we 



212 MAJOR JOEL H. ELLIOTT. 

consider the motive that induced him to incur the displeasure of 
his General. 

He was, on the consolidation of the regiment, commissioned 
Major of the new organization. He served in that capacity 
until its final muster out. 

He was a genial gentleman, and a kind, noble-hearted 
man. As a soldier and officer, he had the respect and confi- 
dence of his inferior and superior officers, and of all the men. 

He returned to his home at Plymouth, Indiana, where he 
died of consumption, early in the year 1869. 

MAJOR JOEL H. ELLIOTT. 

Joel H. Elliott entered the 7th Indiana cavalry as Captain of 
Company M. His residence at the time of his enlistment, as 
shown by Adjutant-General Terrell's reports, was Centerville, 
Wayne county, Indiana. No braver o; truer soldier ever fought 
under the strrry flag of our country. No member of the 7th can 
ever think of him but with feelings of respect and sympathy. 
His military career was an active one. Wherever the 7th Indi- 
ana cavalry marched or fought, there was found the indomitable 
Elliot. He never failed to win golden commendations from his 
superior officers for his courage as a soldier ami skill as an otli- 
cer. On the expedition to West Point in February 1864, he 
was almost constantly detached from the regiment with scouting 
parties, and many were the examples of courage and ability he 
set. On one occasion, while with a foraging party near Okolo- 
na, Miss., and while the most of his men were in a crib, getting 
corn, a body of rebels, greatly outnumbering his force, dashed 
upon him, expecting to capture his entire party. Capt. Elliott 
hastily mounted a few of his men, and charged with them into 
the ranks of the rebels, and with revolvers put them to flight 
without the loss of a man. He led his company in the sabre 
charge on the evening of February 22d, 1864, at Ivy Farm. 

In the battle of Brice's cross-roads, Miss., his courage was very 
conspicuous. For two hours he had command of a part of the 
line, and repuUed every attempt of the enemy to break it. He 



MAJOR JOEL H. ELLIOTT. 213 

exposed himself so recklessly it was a wonder he was not killed. 
He was a target for the rebel sharpshooters. In the evenirg 
when the regiment was leaving the field, he received a severe 
and painful wound in the shoulder which disabled him. He 
was carried in an ambulance during the next day, when his 
wound becoming so painful he could not endure the jolting of 
the vehicle, he was left at a plantation, where he remained un- 
til his wounl was sufficiently healed to enable him to be taken 
to Memphis In the mean time, he had been paroled by the 
rebels. He commanded the detachment of the 7th Indiana on 
Grierson's raid in the winter of 1864 — '65. He was invariably 
placed in positions of danger, and well did he prove himself 
worthy of the honor. We have already given an account of the 
manner in which he, in conjunction with Capt. Skelton, captur- 
ed Verona, Miss., and burned a large quantity of army stores. 
For his glorious services on that expedition he was breveted 
Major of the regiment. 

After the reorganization of the regiment, he was promoted 
Major, and as such served with it in Texas, until it was muster- 
ed out. He was soon after commissioned Major of the 7th 
United States regular cavalry, recruited by Maj. Gen. A. J. Smith. 
He went on duty with it, on the frontiers, among the Indians. 
By their savage hands he was destined to die. There was a 
tinge of romance in his life, which is given in the following ex- 
tract from a letter to the Author, from Capt. Will A. Eyan of 
Company G, ot the 7th Indiana cavalry, the friend and confi- 
dant of Major Elliott: 

"Among thejbrave men who figured conspicuously in the an- 
nals of the Seventh, my mind recalls one — Captain Joel H. Elli- 
ott. I, as'an intimate and confidential friend of his, was per 
mitted to see and know him, as few, if any, other members of 
the regiment did or could have done. The Captain's was a quick, 
open, generous nature, sensitive as a child, yet brave as a lion. 
His affections were very strong, and were perhaps the guiding 
star of his destiny. You will perhaps remember the few days' 



214 MAJOR JOEL H. ELLIOTT. 

leave of absence granted to our men to go to our homes and at- 
tend the Presidential election in the Fall of 1864. The Captain 
and myself were among the favored ones. He met me on his 
return to the regiment, in this city (Terra Haute), and we jour- 
neyed on together. He was buoyant with hope. Life had new 
charms for him. He had seen the lady of his choice, and they 
were betrothed. ' The course of true love never did run smooth ' 
says the poet, and so in his case. Scarcely two months had 
elapsed when one evening, upon the eve of an expedition into 
the enemy's country, he summoned me to his tent, and with 
manly emotion told me 'the story of hisjife' — gave in my keep- 
ing all the little love tokens that he had so highly treasured, 
with instructions as to their final disposition in case he should 
'not return.' j ^The expedition had fruitful results for our arms, 
and every one who accompanied it, will remember the daring, 
dashing Captain Elliott, whose exploit in the capture of a town 
at midnight, scattering the enemyjn'all directions, and captur- 
ing and destroying so many valuable army stores, was flattering- 
ly complimented by his superior . officers. Of course, at that 
time, I attached*no importance to this love trouble of the Cap- 
tain's; but now, ten years after the occurrence, I regard it as 
the turning point of his life. His determination from that mo- 
ment seemed bent on the profession^of^arms.] During our sub- 
sequent intimacy when discussing the ladies, his conversation 
ever carried to my mind the remembrance of this 'affair.' There 
were detached hints of it in his after letters which came to me 
from time to time. The affairs of civil life possessed no charms 
for him. He again sought and obtained preferment in the ser- 
vice of his country, and his appointment to a Majorship in the 
regular army was a flattering recognition of his merits as an offi- 
cer. I possess letters of his up within a short time of his unfor- 
tunate death, and the same sad under-current prevades them 
all. He had not forgotten his first love. It will be remember- 
ed that in an expedition against the Indians on our western 
frontier, under General Custer, that an attack was paade upon 



CAPTAIN JOnN R. PARMELEE. 215 

an Indian encampment and the Indians badly beaten. Major 
Elliot, with a detachment of sixteen men, was following up one 
body of the retreating Indians. A few miles from the scene of 
battle his body and those of his men were found scalped and 
mutilated. The history of that heroic combat will perhaps nev- 
er be known — how, after being ambushed, his gallant band 
fought 'till the last man was slain.' But certain it is, and those 
who knew him best will unite with me in the belief, that no 
truer, braver, or nobler life was ever sacrificed in our country's 
defense." 

On the 27th of November. 1868, on the Washita river, in In- 
dian Territory, the brave Elliott fell, fighting to the last. His 
body rests in an unmonuraented grave on the distant plains of 
the West. Those who knew him, will, in imagination, make a 
pilgrimage to his tomb, and to his brave spirit chant the lines 
of the great poet: 

"Soldier rest! thy warfare o'er; 

Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking : 
Dream of battle-fields no more. 

Days of danger, nights of waking. 
In our isle's enchanted hall, 

.hands unseen thy conch are strewing, 
Fairy strains of music fall, 

Every sense in slumber dewing. 
Soldier rest, thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of fighting-fields no more; 
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, 
Morn of toil, nor night of waking. 

No rude sound shall reach thine ear, 

Armor's clang, or war-steed champing, 
Trump nor pibroch summon here, 

Mustering clan, or squadron tramping. 
Yet the lark's shrill fife may come, 

At the day-break from the fallow, 
And the bittern sound his drum, 

Booming from the sedgy shallow. 
Ruder sounds shall none be near. 
Guards nor warders challenge here, 
Here's no war steed's neigh and champing 
Shouting clans or squadrons stamping. 

CAPTAIN JOHN R. PARMELEE. 

At the time Capt. Parmelee entered the service in the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, he was a practicing attorney at Valparaiso, 
Porter county, in the State of Indiana. 

On the 24th day of August, 1863, he was mustered as First 
Lieutenant of Company A, of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. 



21G CArTAlN JOHN R. PARMELEE. 

On the promotion of Captain John C. Febles to Major of the 
regiment, Parmelee was promoted to the vacancy caused there- 
by, and mustered as Captain November 1st, 1863. 

As already stated in chapter 3d, he was severely wounded in 
the sabre charge, at Ivy Farm, on the 22d of February, 1864, 
and taken prisoner of war. In the charge, he gallantly led Ins 
company, A, which suffered severely in killed, wounded and 
prisoners. From the field at Ivy Farm, he was taken to 
Okolona, and from there by railroad to West Point, thence to 
Starksville, Mississippi, and from there to Columbus, Miss., 
arriving at the latter place on the 25th of February, 1864. 
He remained at Columbus until the 3d of March following, 
when he, with many other prisoners, was compelled to march on 
foot to Demopolis, Alabama, a distance of ninety-five miles, 
arriving there on the Gth of March. The next day, March 7th, 
he was taken by railroad to Selma, and from there, by steam- 
boat on the Alabama river, to Cahawba, Alabama, arriving 
there on the evening of the same day. He remained at Cahaw- 
ba till the 28th of April, when he was taken on the steamboat 
"Southern Republic" up the Alabama river to Montgomery, 
the capital of the State of Alabama. From Montgomery, he 
was taken to Andersonville, Georgia, via Columbus and Fort 
Valley, Ga., by railroad, arriving at Andersonville on the 2d 
day of May. On the next day he was taken to Macon, Ga., 
where he remained until July, 29th. On the 17th of May, the 
number of prisoners at Macon, were increased, by the arrival 
of fifteen hundred Federal officers from Libby prison, at Rich- 
mond, Va. 

On the 20th of July, the Captain, together with six hundred 
other officers, was taken, by way of Savannah, Ga., to Charleston, 
South Carolina, arriving there on the morning of July 30th. 
There he remained till October Gth, when he was removed to 
Columbia, South Caroliana, where he remained until the 4th of 
November, 1864. On that day, determined to make an effort to 
regain his freedom, the Captain, in company with Captians 



CAPTAIN JOHN E. PARMLEE. 217 

George E. King, of the 113th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry, and Marcus L. Stansberry, of the 95th Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry, escaped through the guard lines, and traveling across 
the country, reached Orangeburg, S. C, on the Edisto river, on 
the 9th of November. At that place, the fugitives procured a 
skiff, and proceeded in it, down the Edisto to its mouth, reach- 
ing that point on the 17th of November. In the evening of 
that day, by the aid of some negroes, who owned and navigated 
a small sail-boat, they succeeded in getting aboard of the gun- 
boat Stetten, of the United States blockading squadron, lying 
in St. Helena sound, off Otter Island, on the coast of South 
Carolina. They remained on board the gunboat two days, 
during which time, they were treated With the greatest kindness 
and politeness by the officers and men of the vessel. 

After the expiration of two days, they were taken in a small 
boat to Port Royal harbor, and delivered to Admiral Dahlgreen 
on board his flag-ship. 

After a couple of hours conversation with the Admiral, they 
were taken in a steam tug to Hilton Head, where they were 
placed in the hands of General Foster, Commander of the 
Department. The General and his wife, and all the members 
of his staff, treated them with the utmost kindness. 

Gen. Foster gave them a leave of absence for two months. 
They proceeded on board the Orago to New York City, arriving 
there on the 25th of November, 18(34. From there, they pro- 
ceeded to their homes. 

Soon after reaching home, Captain Parmelee was attacked 
with inflammatory rheumatism, and was unable to rejoin his 
regiment, until the 26th of January, 1865, which he did on 
that day, at Memphis, Tennessee. 

He was soon after detailed as Judge-Advocate of a military 
commission, at Memphis, Tenn., and served as such until the 
regiment started for Texas. On the consolidation of the regi- 
ment, he was mustered out of the service. Since the close of 
the war he has made Indianapolis his home, where he is engaged 
in the practice of the law. 

24 



218 MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 

Joseph W. Skelton was born on the 22d day of January, 
1836, in Gibson county, in the State of Indiana. His father 
was a farmer of that county. Young Skelton remained on his 
father's farm till he was sixteen years old, when he secured a 
position as clerk in a store in Princeton, in Gibson county. He 
remained in the store till he was nineteen years of age, when he 
returned to his father's farm, and worked on it till he attained 
his legal majority. He then married, and settled on his own 
farm, near the iamily homestead. His wife died in February, 
1SG1. In April of the same year, he enlisted, in a company 
recruited in his county, for the period of three months, and 
went to Indianapolis to be mustered into the service. But the 
quota of three months men was full, and the company organized 
in a regiment to serve for twelve months- But before it was 
mustered, the quota of twelve months trocps was filled. The 
company was then mustered into the service for three years, in 
the Seventeenth Indiana Regiment of Volunteers. He served with 
that regiment in all its operations in Virginia. He was with 
it in the skirmish at Green Briar, which was dignified by the 
name of battle. He went with the regiment in the winter of 
1801-2, to Louisville, Kentucky, and from there to Nashville, 
Tennessee, from there, by forced marches, to Shilo, but did not 
arrive there till after the battle. 

He then marched with his regiment into Mississippi and 
Alabama, and was with Buel's army, in its pursuit of Bragg, in 
the march of the latter, on Louisville. 

He then returned to Nashville, Tennessee. From that place, 
his regiment followed John Morgan, into Kentucky, near Louis- 
ville, and returned by forced marches, to Murfresborough, but 
arrived too late to participate in that battle. 

The Major was employed most of the time in scouting. In 
February, 1803, he was captured by the rebels, near B,eady- 
ville, Tennessee, and taken to McMinnville. The next morning 
the rebels were attacked by the federal troops, and Skelton was 
sent to the rear, under guard of four men. The weather being 



MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 219 

cold, three of the men stopped at a house to warm, leaving 
but one man to guard the prisoner. When the other guards 
were out of sight, Skelton, to the great surprise of the remain- 
ing one, disarmed him and attempted to escape. But he was 
soon recaptured, and with a squad of other prisoners, placed 
under a guard of ten men. 

The rebels were mounted, but Skelton was obliged to walk. 
When within about three miles of McMinnville, he attempted a 
second time to escape. He leaped the fences and run for the 
woods, but in dodging around in them, he ran into a different 
squad of rebels, and was by them turned over to his lust 
captors. 

The rebels thought such a slippery fellow was a fit subject to 
stretch hemp. They struck him in the face, and beat him with 
their revolvers till tired, then put a rope, with a noose, around 
his neck, and the other end of it over the limb of a tree, when 
the commanding officer, of the last party that captured him, at 
this critical juncture, stopped proceedings. But they stripped 
him of his clothing, except his shirt and pants, and were about 
to deprive him of his boots, when the same officer interfered and 
put a stop to it. The brutal quartermaster ordered Skelton to 
run the rest of the way to the town, a distance of three miles. 
He started on the double-quick, and went a short distance, but 
the road being rough, and being almost exhausted by his efforts to 
escape, it was impossible for him to keep up. The quarter- 
master cursed and swore at him, and struck him with his re- 
volver several times over the head. But it was impossible for 
him to proceed. The rebel then threatened to kill him, but 
Skelton, sitting down by the roadside, told him to kill; that Gen. 
Rosecrans would hear of it, and would amply retaliate. Find- 
ing that his prisoner could not be frightened, the rebel con- 
cluded to let him rest for half an hour ; at the expiration of 
which time, he was marched into McMinnville and lodged in 
jail. 

The next day he was taken to Tallahoma, and placed in the 



220 MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 

guard-house with a lot of rebels, confined for various mis- 
demeanors. Their rations consisted of a pint of corn meal per 
day, which was poured out of a sack on to the floor, in a corner 
of the room, of which, each man got what he could. In addition 
to this, the prisoners were kicked and cuffed about by the 
rebels in a most brutal manner. Skelton, unable longer to en- 
dure their insults, said to a young Georgian, who was constantly 
boasting of his worldly possessions, that there was one thing he 
did not and never would possess, and that was any principle of 
a gentleman, for no gentleman would abuse a man when he was 
disarmed and helpless. The rebel was greatly incensed' at this 
remark, and regretted that there was no opportunity to fight a 
duel with Skelton. 

The rebels were principally Missourian^ and Arkansans, and 
a duel, above all things, was what they loved to witness. They 
set to work, to devise means to let the duel come off. 

They were imprisoned in a long store room, with a smaller 
room cut off at one end. 

One of the rebels suggested that the fight might take place in 
that small room. The suggestion was favorably received, and 
the young Georgian had no alternative but to challenge Skelton, 
which was formally done. Skelton stated to the rebels, that he, 
in commoa with northern men, was opposed, on principle, to duel- 
ing, but that under the circumstances, he thought that he 
would be justified in accepting the challenge, and that, if there 
was one man present who would see fair play, he would accept. 
A dozen Missourians stepped forward, and said that they would 
see that the fight was conducted according to rule. 

Skelton waved his right as the challenged party to choose the 
weapons. His adversary chose dirks, with blades fifteen inches 
in length. 

Skelton took his position and awaited the appearance of his 
antagonist. He came to the door and said he would give half of 
what he was worth for Gen. Bragg'a permission to fight, but that 
be could, not think of _su f eh a thing, without julIi perm'ssioii 



MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 221 

For, he said, he would surely kill Skelton, and if he did, Bragg 
would have him hung, and that he would not run that risk for 
any "d— d Yankee." 

The crowd interpreted that into a back-down, and greeted 
him with jeers and derision. 

Thus ended the duel. It, however, had a good effect for the 
federal prisoners. It won the respect of the Arkansas and 
Missouri rebels, who afterwards treated them well, and shared 
with them their rations. 

From Tallahoma, Skelton was taken to Chattanooga. There 
the rebels threatened to make the prisoners work on the 
trenches. By the persuasion of Skelton, they refused to do so. 
To the threats of the rebels to kill them if th^y did not work, 
Skelton replied that Rosecrans knew how to retaliate. 

While at Chattanooga, two Kentuckians, Union men, although 
in the rebel army, were brought in heavily ironed, and under 
sentence of death. 

One dark night, during a hailstorm, Skelton, with the assist- 
ance of some of his fellow prisoners, let these men down from a 
window in the second story of the building in which they were 
confined. 

As they were not brought back, it is supposed that they 
succeeded in making their escape. The next morning the rebel 
officers made great efforts, by threats and offered bribes, to learn 
the names of the parties conniving at their escape, but utterly 
fail ed. 

From Chattanooga, Skelton, with other prisoners, was sent to 
Libby prison, at Richmond, Virginia, and for three months 
endured the horrors of that filthy bastile. 

He was paroled and sent to Indianapolis, where he was placed 
on duty as clerk at headquarters at Camp Carrington. But 
lounging around headquarters did not suit such a restless 
spirit. 

He recruited one hundred men, and was commissioned 1st 
Lieutenant, and assigned to company F, of the Seventh Indiana 



222 MAJOR JOSEPH W SKELTON. 

Cavalry. He immediately entered on active duty with the 
regiment. He was a brave, daring, and reckless man, and was 
nearly always selected for enterprises requiring shrewdness and 
dash. We have frequently, in the preceding pages of this book, 
referred to his exploits, and will not repeat them here. The 
particulars of two only of his greatest performances have been 
reserved for this sketch — the rout of six hundred rebels 
at Lamar Station, Miss., with only thirty men — and the capture 
of "Dick Davis." 

In June, 18G4, Capt. John W. Shoemaker resigned, and Lieut. 
Skelton was promoted Captain of company F to fill the vacancy. 

In August, 1864, the regiment was with the army of General 
A. J. Smith, on his expedition to Oxford, Mississippi, On the 
14th of August, 1864, Capt. Wright, of the Seventh Indiana 
Cavalry, with a battalion of that regiment, pursuant to orders, 
marched from Holly Springs, north to Hudsonville, whence he 
dispatched Captain Skelton, with company F, numbering but 
thirty men, to Lamar, on the railroad, a few miles further north, 
to disperse any guerrilla parties that might interfere with the 
railroad. Captain Skelton bivouaced about sundown in the 
woods, about half a mile north of the latter town. About 
eleven o'clock, the Captain received information from a vidctte 
stationed in the village, that an armed force was entering it 
from the south. He immediately awakened his men, and 
mounting them, marched boldly to meet the enemy, who had 
reached the railroad northwest of the village, and halted. The 
night being rather dark, Capt. Skelton and his little band got 
nearly on to the rebels, before they saw the dark outlines of 
their force. The first intimation the enemy had of the presence 
of Yankees, was a shot from Capt. Skelton's revolver, and his 
command to the company to "charge." With a yell, the 
Captain and his men dashed into the ranks of the rebels, firing 
their revolvers right and left into them. 

They were taken completely by surprise, and were totally 
unprepared for an attack. Some of their men had dismount. 'd 



MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 223 

and thrown themselves on the ground to rest, and most of the 
rest were dozing in their saddles. The front of their column 
broke in wild confusion, and running through the ranks of the 
rear companies of their force, stampeded their entire command. 
They lied in wild confusion through the town, hotly pursued. 
Indeed, friend and foe were intermingled, the rebels too much 
confused to do anything but run, and Skelton's men rapidly 
emptying the saddles of the former, with their revolvers fired at 
a distance of but a few feet, and in numerous instances, with 
the muzzles placed against the bodies of their adversaries. At 
the south edge of the village was a wide, deep ravine, behind 
which, the rebels made a stand. Captain Skelton, seeing the 
fearful odds against him, managed to withdraw all his men, ex- 
cept the Author, who was wounded and taken prisoner. When 
the company dashed through the rebel ranks, those of the ene- 
my left in the rear, surrendered. At one time, Serg't Aurand 
and Corporal F. J. M. Titus, had huddled together, and were 
guarding nearly one hundred prisoners. When the company 
was withdrawn from the pursuit, Corp'l Titus wanted to know 
what to do with the prisoners. Lieut. Crane told him to " pa- 
role them and come on." Besides the Author, only one other 
man of the company was hurt. That one was John E. Kelley ,who 
was shot through the right hand and permanently disabled. He 
came very near being taken prisoner. A rebel had hold of him, 
but John manage;! B twice to break loose from him; the last 
time he did so, he left in the hands of his enemy a good portion 
of his blouse. 

On leaving the field, Capt. Skelton's command got separated, 
a part returning with him to Holly Springs, and a part under 
Lieut. Crane going to Lagrange Tenn. The rebels retreated to Oko- 
lona. The next day the men with Crane, not having made their 
appearance at camp, Capt. Skelton, with fifty men returned to 
Lamar, to learn if possible the fate of his missing men. He 
found in the different houses of the town a large number of bad- 
ly wounded rebel soldiers, and learned that the citizens had 



224 MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKEETON. 

buried several dead ones. The force attacked by Capt. Skelton 
on that night, was the old regiment raised and commanded by 
the rebel Gen. N. B. Forrest, when he was a Colonel. It num- 
bered six hundred picked men, commanded by Col. Kelley, and 
was at that time on its way to Memphis, carrying out a part of 
Forrest's plan for the capture of that place. Its inglorious re- 
pulse and retreat, for the time being, frustrated Forrest's pur- 
pose to capture one of the most important depots of supplies on 
the Mississippi river. 

The guerrillas about the Nonconnah creek were bold in their 
depredations on citizens, and attacks on federal patrole and 
scouting parties. Capt. Skelton had recently lost seven mem- 
bers of his company, who had been captured and murdered by 
Dick Davis, and was burning for an apportunity to capture that 
guerrilla chieftain. He got permission to take his company and 
go in quest of him, supposed to be somewhere in the bottoms of 
the Coldwater. On the evening of October 1st, 1SG4, a little 
after dark, the Captain left camp at White Station, and proceed- 
ed towards Cockrum's cross-roads in Mississippi. He avoided 
the roads, and marched through the fields and woods. He had 
made the habits of the guerrillas a study. He knew it was im- 
possible to surprise their camp by following the highways. 
Some of their band were always along the line of march, loung- 
ing about the houses pretending to be citizens, while a command 
was passing; but when it was out of sight, would mount their horses 
concealed behind the house, or in the woods close by, and taking 
the by-paths, with which they were perfectly familiar, get ahead 
of the scouting party, and warn their comrades in time to escape 
or to form an ambuscade. Not only that, but the genuine citi- 
zens, to save their property or their lives, by conciliating the 
outlaws, would voluntarily officiate as messengers of warning. 
At day-break the next morning, Capt. Skelton, after a difficult 
march reached the Coldwater, and effected a crossing. At the 
first house he came to after crossing, he captured [four prisoners. 
Continuing his march some distance further, his advance was 



MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON . 225 

fired on, from a house situated quite a distance from the road. 
The advance immediately charged up to the house, and prevent- 
ed the guerrillas from getting to their horses tied in the woods 
several rods from the house. The rest of the command follow- 
ing Capt. Skelton, dashed up on the run. The guerrillas were 
escaping through the fields to the woods. When Captain Skel- 
ton came up, he saw two men running through the garden to- 
wards the woods. Without waiting for the bars across the lane 
leading to the house, to be thrown down, he put spurs to his 
horse, and cleared them at a bound. But there was still a high 
fence between himself and the flying guerrillas. He noticed 
them slacken their pace to load their carbines. He conjectured 
that their intention was after reloading, to wheel and shoot him. 
To prevent that he must capture them before they succeeded in 
loading. To wait for the fence to be thrown down would take 
too long. There was not an instant to be lost. His only alter- 
native was to leap his horse over the fence and be on them in a 
moment. Striking the rollers deep into the flanks of his horse, 
the animal cleared the fence without touching it; and in a min- 
ute after, he was by the side of Dick Davis, with his cocked revol- 
ver at his head. Davis had just replaced the cylinder contain- 
ing the cartridges, in his carbine. The muzzle was pointing 
towards the ground. All he had to do to be ready for battle, 
was to raise the muzzle, wheel and fire. Had Captain Skelton 
been an instant later, he would have, in all probability, been 
killed. But he was at the side of Davis, ready to blow his 
brains out if he moved his weapon a hair's breadth. The Cap- 
tain demanded of Davis his surrender. The latter hesitated, 
and glancing at his companion, saw that he had not reloaded. 
The Captain again asked him if he would surrender, when Davis 
coolly replied: "I guess I will have to, seeing there is no help 
for it." Skelton said: "Then drop that carbine d — n quick." 
Davis saw in the flashing eye of the little man before him, that 
he stood in the presence of his master and dropped his carbine 
on the ground. An ominous movement of the Captain's revol- 

25 



22G MAJOR JOSEPH W. SKELTON. 

ver, quickly decided the other to follow the example of his 
chieftain, and "ground arms." Skelton then compelled them to 
march backwards until he was between them and their arms. 
He then stood guard over them until some of his men returned 
from the pursuit of the other guerrillas, and took them in charge. 
Davis then said to Skelton : "If you had been a moment later I 
would have saved your bacon." Skelton did not know at that 
time, that he had captured the scourge of Northern Mississippi, 
and Southwestern Tennessee. His distinguished captive care- 
fully concealed his name, which was not learned until he was 
marched into the Irving Block at Memphis, where he was recogniz- • 
ed by the officers, who had had him in charge once before. But 
he knew that he had waked up the guerrillas, who, in all prob- 
ability, would rally and attempt to release their comrades. He 
was forty miles from camp, and having several prisoners, deem- 
ed it prudent to return before they could unite against him. 
Before he had crossed the river, a body of guerrillas, attracted 
by the firing, came dashing upon his rear guard. He wheeled a 
portion of his command to the rear and charged the rebels and 
put them to flight. By the time he returned, the rest of his 
command had crossed the river, and were engaged on the 
opposite side. Hastily crossing, the Captain ordered a Sergeant 
to take ten men and charge the guerrillas, who were dismount- 
ed and posted behind the trees. The Sergeant and his men 
were driven back on the main commam!. ('apt. Skelton then 
selected a trusty sergeant and ten men, and directed him to take 
charge of the prisoners, proceed down the river and get to 
camp with them if possible, but if the worst came, not to let one of 
them escape, while he with the rest of the command fought the 
enemy back. Placing himself at the head of his men, Skelton 
led them in the charge upon the guerrillas, and put them to flight, 
and pursued them in a wild chase through the woods for over a 
mile. The Sergeant in charge of the prisoners, seeing the rebels 

routed, concluded his best course would be to follow up Skelton, 
and did so. 



LIEUT. ELIJAH S. BLACKFORD. 227 

Capt. Skelton had proceeded but a mile further, when he dis- 
covered in his front a body of rebels, greatly out-numbering his 
entire command, drawn up to oppose his further advance. He 
was expecting, every moment, the guerrillas he had driven on 
the opposite side of the river, to rally and come upon the rear. 
Not a moment was to be lost. He deployed as skirmishers, while 
on the run, twenty of his men, and led them in a charge on the 
rebels. The latter stood long enough to fire one volley, when 
they broke and fled in all directions. The Captain then pro- 
ceeded without further interruption, to camp, arriving there be- 
fore dark. Although under fire a part of the time, not a man 
of Skelton's command was hurt. In this little expedition Capt. 
Skelton displayed great tact and undaunted courage. The ser- 
vice he had rendered humanity and the federal army, was al- 
most incalculable. 

Captain Skelton was peculiarly fitted for such enterprises just 
described. He was ingenious, quick to form his plans, and 
possessed courage that shrank from no danger. At times his 
courage partook of the character of rashness. In every fight or 
battle, he was always in advance of his men. He did the most 
of the fighting himself. It was invariably his practice on com- 
ing in sight of an enemy, to charge. The enemy invariably 
ran, and separating into small squads, scatter in the woods. 
Skelton singling out the largest squad, would pursue it until he 
had captured one or more prisoners. He participated with the 
regiment in all its raids, expeditions, marches and battles, ex- 
cept those of the Missouri campaign. On the consolidation of 
the regiment, he was assigned to company C, but was soon pro- 
moted Major, and served as such till the muster out of the 
regiment. 

LIEUTENANT ELIJAH S. BLACKFORD. 

Elijah S. Blackford resides one and a half miles from Warsaw, in 
Kosciusko county, Indiana. He is a farmer by occupation. He 
was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 7th of March, 1825. 
In ISIS, he came with his father to Fayette County, Indiana, 



22S LIEUT. ELIJAH S. BLACKFORD. 

and in 1852, lie went io Kosciusko'county, his present home. In 
1863, he enlisted as a private in company I, of the Seventh 
Indiana Cavalry, under James H. Carpenter, of Warsaw, 
Indiana, but was mustered with the company September 3d, 
1863, as First Sergeant. He served in that capacity with the 
regiment, until November, 1864, when he was promoted to 2d 
Lieutenant. On the 1st of March, 186,5, he was promoted to 
1st Lieutenant, vice Lieut. Chas. H. Hare, dismissed. He was 
frequently sent on scouting expeditions, in which he displayed 
good judgment and pluck. Especially was this the case, when 
with twenty-five men, on the 14th of May, 1865, he was sent 
from Lagrange, Tennessee, toward Corinth, to protect workmen 
employed in repairing the telegraph on the Memphis and Char- 
leston railroad. At Middletown, on the 22d of May, 1865, 
while on that duty, a " Night Hawk," so called in that country, 
because they were Union men, compelled to hide themselves in 
the daytime, but who roamed about at night, and killed guer- 
rillas, came to his camp, with the information, that Bent Rogers, 
a notorious guerrilla, was at his house, three miles distant, and 
offered his assistance in capturing him. The next morning, the 
Lieutenant, with four trusty men, with the "night hawk" for a 
guide, proceeded to the residence of Rogers, where they 
found him in bed. His wife appeared at the door in answer to 
the Lieutenant's rap, and declared that her husband was not at 
home. The Lieutenant pushed the door open, went into the 
bed-room, and found Rogers hastily dressing himself. He 
arrested him and took him to his camp, and from there t<> 
Lagrange. On the way there, at a house, he saw hitched to tie 
fence, a splendid white horse, with an officer's saddle, with a 
pair of navy revolvers in the holsters, lie asked Rogers what 
that meant. The latter said that it was a horse belonging to 
"one of our men." At that moment, a. tall, fine-looking man, 
came out of the house, walked leisurely to the horse, mounted 
it, and rode out into the highway, just as the Lieutenant and his 
party came up. Rogers introduced the Btranger a-' "' 



LIEUT. ELIJAH S. BLACKFORD. 229 

Higgs." The Captain rode by the side of Lieutenant Blackford 
for quite a distance and chatted pleasantly. In a hollow by the 
side of the road, were three men dismounted and holding their 
horses. When opposite, one of them said: "Well, Bent, they 
have got you at last." Rogers replied : "Yes, they have got 
me." Captain Higgs turned out of the road to the men in the 
hollow, politely excusing himself as he did so, while Lieutenant 
Blackford proceeded toward Lagrange. Both sides being equal 
in strength, neither dared to make an attack. Rogers made no 
effort to escape. He heard the order given to the men, before 
starting, to shoot him dead if he made such an attempt. He 
undoubtedly deemed it prudent to go quietly along. He in- 
formed Lieut. Blackford that Higgs was a notorious guerrilla 
chief in that country, and that the men in the hollow were mem- 
bers of his band. 

Rogers was safely delivered to the military authorities at 
Lagrange, sent to Memphis, tried by a military commission, con- 
victed of robbery, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment in 
the penitentiary at Alton, Illinois. 

On the 7th of June, 1SG5, Lieutenant Blackford was detailed 
to serve on a military commission at Memphis, Tennessee, of 
which Colonel George W. McKeaig was president. Before that 
commission, Mat Luxton, a notorious guerrilla, and a half 
brother of the rebel General N. B. Forrest, was brought for trial 
for his crimes. Owing to the difficulty the Government had in 
getting witnesses, the trial dragged along for eighty days. But 
at last he was convicted of murder and of being a guerrilla, and 
sentenced to suffer death. He, however, managed to escape, 
probably by bribing the jailor. 

His friends offered thousands of dollars for his release, His 
mother, and Col. Forrest, his half brother, attended his trial 
almost daily. He was ably defended by Captain Henry Lee, a 
Union officer. 

While waiting for witnesses in Luxton's case, the Lieutenant 
went to Sanatobia, Miss., with another commission to collect the 



230 CAPTAIN ROBERT G. SMITHER. 

evidence relating to the ownership of certain cotton, in the 
possession of \V. T. Avant, of Fayette county, Miss. On the 
5th of July, 1865, he was detailed on another military com- 
mission, and served on it, at Memphis, until the close of the 
war. He was therefore prevented, from going with the regi- 
ment to Texas. 

Capt. Bales being dismissed from the service, the Lieutenant 
was commissioned Captain of company I, but as the war was 
over, and being anxious to return to his family, he declined to 
muster. He soon resigned and returned to his home in Kosci- 
usko county, Indiana. 

CAPTAIN ROBERT G. SMITHER. 

Robert G. Smither was born in Marion county, Indiana, 
September 27th, 1S46. On the 28th of July, 1861. At the 
early age of fourteen, he entered the military service, during 
the rebellion, as a private of company I, of the 2Gth Regiment 
of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served in that regiment 
until the 4th of November, 1S62, when he was discharged from 
the service en surgeon's certficate of disability. He re-enlisted 
in company II, of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, of which com- 
pany he was soon after appointed. First Sergeant. On the 30th 
of September, 1864, he was mustered as 2d Lieutenant of the 
company. On the 1st of June, 1S65, he was commissioned 
Captain, and after the consolidation of the regiment, assigned to 
company A, and mustered as its Captain on the promotion of 
Captain Moore to Major. He was with the regiment in all its 
raids, expeditions, campaigns and battles. He was severe- 
ly wounded in the neck, in the sabre charge, at the battle of 
Okolona, February 22d, 1864. In a charge of the regiment, at 
the battle of Egypt Station, Mississippi, on General Grierson's 
laid, on the 28th of December, 1804, he was severely wounded 
in the right thigh. For the last three months he was connected 
with the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, he served on the staff of 
General George A. Caster, as Qouunander "' bis escort, consisting 
of two companies. 



LIEUTENANT FRANCIS M. WAY. 231 

After his muster out of the volunteer service, he was 
appointed First Lieutenant in the Tenth Regiment of United 
States regular cavalry, which position he still holds. 

Since the close of the rebelion, he has been stationed on the 
frontiers among the hostile Indians. His appointment to a 
Lieutenantcy in the regular army is sufficient proof of his ability 
as a soldier and officer. 

LIEUTENANT FRANCIS M. WAY. 

Lieutenant Way enlisted with General Thomas M. Browne, in 
campany B, of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. He was mustered 
into the United States service, on the 28th of August, 1863, as 
First Sergeant of company B. On the 1st of October, 1SG3, he 
he was promoted First Lieutenant of the company. He took 
part with the regiment in its early operations in Kentucky and 
West Tennessee. On the return of the regiment to Union City, 
from Jackson, Tennessee, he got a leave of absence, to visit one 
of his children that was dangerously ill. Before his return, the 
regiment started on its march to Colliersville. On returning, 
he proceeded directly to Memphis, and rejoined his command at 
the former place. He then took command of his company, and 
gallantly led it through the dangers and trials of the expedition 
to West point. At Ivy Farm, on the evening of the 221 of 
February, pursuant to orders, he dismounted his company, and 
formed it for the support of the battery of the 4th Missouri 
Cavalry, but was soon ordered to horse, and joined in the sabre 
charge. Company B was the last company, and Lieutenant 
Way the last man to leave the field. After the army had 
retreated some distance, he was sent back with a force to 
reconnoiter, and ascertain the purposes of the enemy. On 
reaching the field, he discovered that they were making no 
preparations to pursue, thus showing that they had received 
considerable punishment. On returning to the regiment, it 
being dark, the Lieutenant was in considerable danger of being 
shot by his own men. He was riding a white horse, and in the 
darkness, was thought to be a rebel scout. The words: "shoot 



232 LIEUTENANT FRANCIS M. WAY. 

that man on the white horse," was passed from man to man, but 
the darkness that caused that trouble, proved to be his shield of 
protection, and he escaped unhurt. 

He commanded company L, on the expedition to Port Gibson, 
and Grand Gulf, in the summer of 1864. 

When Forrest dashed into Memphis, Lieut. Way was at 
White Station, with a detachment of the regiment, that did not 
accompany Gen. Smith to Oxford, Miss. The troops at that 
post occupied a precarious position, and expected every hour to 
be captured. While there had been considerable picket firing, yet 
no direct attack had been made on the camp. It was not known 
there, which side held Memphis, whether Forrest or the Feder- 
als. The commanding officer dispatched Lieut. Way, with ten 
men, to ascertain. He proceeded cautiously toward Memphis. 
On coming in sight of the picket line, he saw the officer in 
charge, posting his men behind trees, and making preparations 
for defence. The Lieutenant posted his men in a good position, 
and then rode forward alone, to ascertain whether the pickets 
were friends or foes. When within hailing distance, he called 
for the officer to step out and hold a parley. He did so, and 
proved to be a Union officer. From him the Lieut, learned that 
Memphis was still in the hands of the Federal army. He re- 
turned to camp with the joyful intelligence. 

He was with the detachment of the regiment in the last in- 
vasion of Missouri, by the rebel General Price. 

When Price was at Independence, communication with Gen. 
Rosecrans, at Lexington, thirty miles distant, was kept up by 
means of a courier line, with posts at intervals of three miles. 
Lieutenant Way was placed in command of that line. The 
country swarmed with "bushwhackers," who killed many of 
the couriers. 

After the fight at Independence, Lieut. Way was taken sick 
and sent to Lexington. He did not recover sufficient, health to be 
again able for active duty, and on the 11th of February, 1805, 
was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability. Before his 



lieut's gleason, and crane. 233 

discharge, however, he was commissioned Captain of company 
B, but declined to muster as such. 

He was a strictly temperate man, and did not, during his 
entire service, taste a drop of any kind of liquor. 

He returned to his home, at Winchester, Indiana. He still is, 
and for a number of years has been, postmaster at that place. 

LIEUTENANT CHARLES H. GLEASON. 

Lieut. Gleason was born July 5th, 1845, in Utica, New York. 
He enlisted in company A, of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, in 
LaPorte, in the month of July, 1863. He passed through all 
the gradations of rank from Corporal to 1st Lieutenant, and 
Adjutant of the regiment. For about three months he was act- 
ing quartermaster of the regiment. He was with the regiment 
in nearly all its expeditions, raids and battles. He acted as 
Adjutant on the expedition in Missouri after Gen. Price, in his 
last invasion of that State. He was a young man of irreproach- 
able character, a brave soldier, and a reliable officer. 

At the battle of Brice's Cross-roads, in Mississippi, June 10th, 
1804, the Author saw him under the severest fire during the 
day, and was impressed with his coolness and courage. 

He served with the regiment until its final muster out. Since 
the close of the war, he has resided at Sardis, Mississippi, and 
was for six years Clerk of the Circuit Court. He is now manager 
of a hotel in. Sardis. He married in Memphis, Tenn., and has 
one child, a daughter, three years old. 

LIEUTENANT WILLIAM H. CRANE. 

William H. Crane was born February 28th, 1840, in LaPorte 
county, Indiana. He is a farmer by occupation. Pie enlisted as 
a private of company C, Twenty-ninth Regiment of Indiana 
Infantry Volunteers, on the 7th of September, 1861. He served 
with the regiment in the siege of Corinth, in the spring of 1862, 
and on the march to Bridgeport, after the evacuation of the 
former place, and in the pursuit of Bragg to Louisville. 
On the 30th of December, 1862, he was discharged from 
the regiment, by reason of sickness, caused by the ex- 

26 



234 LIEUTENANT WILLIAM H. CRANE. 

posures incident to the severe campaigns through which the 
regiment passed. 

He re-enlisted in the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, and was mus- 
tered September 3d, 1803, at Indianapolis, as a Sergeant of com- 
pany F, of that regiment. He performed active duty with it up 
to the 21st of February, 1SG4, at West Point, Miss. On the 
morning of the 21st, his face was severely burned with powder, 
from broken cartridges, that he was assorting. While so en- 
gaged, a spark from the camp fire flew into the powder, which 
exploded in his face. He was unable to take part in the battle 
the next day. 

He came very near being captured on the evening of the 22d. 
The driver set him out of the ambulance, to get Lieut. Donch, 
and Capt. Parmelee, but found the portion ■of. the field, where 
they fell, occupied by the rebels. On returning, he forgot Crane, 
and had passed him a considerable distance before he remem- 
bered him. He started back on the run, and by the time he got 
the Lieutenant into the ambulance, and started up, the rebels 
were but a few rods from them. He did not recover from the 
powder burn so as to be able to participate in the'Guntown ex- 
pedition in the following month of June. 

He was with Capt. Skelton, in his night attack on the rebels, 
at Lamar Station, Mississippi, and fought bravely. He took 
command of the portion of the company that got separated from 
Capt. Skelton, marched it to Lagrange, Tennessee, and from 
there in safety to the regiment at Holly Springs. He was with 
the expedition to Port Gibson, Miss., and in the Missouri cam- 
paign in the fall of 1864. 

In the latter campaign, when Gen. Pleasanton was approach- 
ing Independence, Mo., he had command of the extreme ad- 
vance guard, and in coming in sight of the rebels, charged them, 
captured a few prisoners, and put the rest to flight. 

Soon after his return to Memphis, from this expedition, he 
was commissioned 2d Lieutenant of comany F. 

He was with the detachment of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, 



CArTAIN JOHN PONCH. 235 

that accompanied Gen. Grierson on his famous raid through 
Mississippi, in the winter of 1864-5, and proved himself a 
reliable officer. He was with the regiment in all its operations 
and marches afterwards. 

On the consolidation of the regiment, he was transferred to 
company A, of the new organization, and was soon afterwards 
promoted 1st Lieutenant of the company. 

On the I8th of January, 1866, he was mustered out with the 
regiment. He returned to his home in LaPorte county, where 
he still resides. 

CAPTAIN JOHN DONCH. 

John Donch was born on the 28th day of July, 1824, at 
Mecklar, Hessia Castle, Germany, in which country he lived till 
1851. He served five years, as a private soldier, in the stand- 
ing army of that country. In August, 1851, he came to 
America, landing at New York City, since which time he has 
been a citizen of this country. 

In 1852, he went to California, and engaged in mining until 
the fall of 1853, when he went to Lake county, Indiana, where 
he has ever since resided. 

He entered the United States service, during the rebellion, on 
the 25th of September, 1861, as a private in the Thirteenth 
Illinois Cavalry, and was in active service with that regiment, 
in Missouri and Arkansas. He was promoted to 2d Lieutenant 
of the regiment, and served as such until the 10th of January, 
1863. 

On the 10th of August, 1863, he enlisted at Indianapolis, as 
a private, in company A, of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry. On 
the 24th of August, of the same year, he was mustered with the 
company as Sergeant, and on the 1st of September following, 
he was promoted to First or orderly Sergeant of the company. 

On the first of November, 1863, he was commissioned 2d 
Lieutenant, and on the 26th of the same month, and before he 
had mustered on his first commission, he was promoted 1st L,ieu- 



236 CAPTAIN JOHN DONCH. 

tenant of his company. These promotions followed in rapid suc- 
cession, and were conferred on a worthy soldier. 

He was with the regiment in ali its operations in Kentucky, 
Tennessee and Mississippi up to the battle of Okolona, February 
22d, 1864. In the gallant sabre charge, made by the regiment 
at Ivy Farm, on the evening of that day, he was shot through 
the right arm, and also in his body. He became unconscious 
and fell from his horse, and was supposed to be dead, and when 
the regiment retired, he was left on the field. On regaining 
consciousness, he went to a log cabin a short distance from where 
he fell, and was received by the rebel soldiers there in a brutal 
manner. They cursed and swore at him, and threatened to kill 
him. True to the principles of the chivalry, they deprived him 
of his watch and pocket-book. A rebel surgeon dressed his 
wounds. A chivalric bystander asked the doctor, with a know- 
ing wink, if the Lieutenant's hand needed amputating. The 
doctor replied : "This man will fight no more while this war 
lasts," and thus his hand was saved. He lay for that night on 
the ground, beside a large number of other wounded. 

On the next day he was taken, with others, in a wagon to 
Okolona, and placed in a temporary hospital, where he remain- 
ed nine weeks. During most of that time, he was in a critical 
condition. But receiving from the surgeon and nurses proper 
attention, he was so far recovered at the expiration of nine 
weeks, as to be able to be moved to Cahawba, Alabama. From 
that place, at the expiration of four weeks, he was taken to .Ala- 
eon, Georgia, and imprisoned with sixteen hundred other feder- 
al officers. 

When General Stoneinan was making his raid on Macon in 
1864, with the intention of releasing the prisoners at that place, 
the rebel authorities sent six hundred of the prisoners to Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, and six hundred "to Savannah, Georgia. 
Lieut. Doneh was of the number sent to the latter place. From 
there, with other federal officers, he was sent to Charleston. At 
that place the rebels exhibited the highest typo of chivalry, by 



CAPTAIN JOHN DONCH. 237 

compelling the prisoners to stand under the fire from the federal 
batteries, that were bombarding the city. For eighteen clays 
the Lieutenant was kept in the yard of the State prison, with- 
out any shelter whatever. His clothing was nearly worn out. 
His beding consisted of an old, nearly worn out horse blanket. 
At night he slept on the bare ground, with his old boot? for a 
pillow. His food was principally worm-eaten rice. While in 
that place he took the scurvy, and was sent to a hospital out of 
the city. While there, the yellow fever broke out among the 
prisoners, of which many of them died. But the Lieutenant es- 
caped that plague. 

On the 13th day of December, 1864, he was paroled. He re- 
ported at Washington city, where he received a leave of absence, 
with orders to report at Camp Chase, Ohio, at its expiration. 

His appearance at his home in Lowell, Lake county, Indiana, 
astonished his friends, who believed him dead. He was himself 
astonished to learn that he had been treated as a dead man, and 
that his estate had been administered on, and his affairs settled 
up. He instituted proceedings to set aside the administration. 
He established his identity, and the court, thinking him a rath- 
er lively dead man, annulled the letters of administration, and 
the proceedings under them. 

He then went to Camp Chase, where he remained till the 31st 
of March, 1S65. At that time he was exchanged, and ordered 
to rejoin his regiment, at Memphis, Tenn., which he did on the 
19th of April, 1865. 

He went with the regiment to Alexandria, Louisiana, and 
from there on the long, dreary march to Hempstead, Texas. 

On the consolidation of the regiment he was transferred to 
company C, and was soon promoted Captain of the company. He 
was with the regiment in all its marches in Texas, and was mus- 
tered out of the service with it on the 18th of February, 1866. 
He was a brave soldier, and a capable officer. He fought des- 
perately and suffered much for his adopted country. 

Since his return from the war, he has been twice elected 



238 CAPTAIN SYLVESTER L. LEWIS. 

Sheriff of Lake county, which office he still holds in this centen- 
nial year. 

CAPTAIN SYLVESTER L. LEWIS. 

Captain Lewis entered the military service during the rebel- 
lion, at the early age of seventeen. He enlisted under General 
Browne, in company B, of the 7th Indiana cavalry. On the 28th 
of August, 1863, he was mustered as 2d Lieutenant of that 
company. He was promoted successively, 1st Lieutenant and 
Captain of company B. He was mustered as Captain, April 
9th, 1865. He was at that time but eighteen years of age, and 
was probably the youngest Captain in any of the Indiana regi- 
ments. 

As an officer he was brave and capable. He did as much, if 
not more, hard, active duty, as any other officer of the regiment. 
He was in the battles of Okolona, Brice's cross-roads, Port Gib- 
son, and Grand Gulf, Miss., in brief, in every raid, expedition, 
and battle in which the regiment took part. 

He performed more scouting duty about Memphis than any 
other officer of the regiment. That kind of service, during the 
year 1864 and the Spring of 1865, was extremely hazardous. 
He was mustered out of the service Sept. 10th, 1865, on the 
consolidation of the regiment. 

A GUERRILLA ATTACK UPON OFFICERS AT DINNER. DEATH OF 
A BROTHER OF DICK DAVIS. 

The following is furnished by General Browne. 

Many circumstances, at the time of their occurrence really 
thrilling, are constantly transpiring in the field that will never 
find a place in the history of this war. They are not, taken 
alone, little things, but they spring up in the over-awing 
shadows of those that are so hugely great that they pass un- 
noticed by the historic eye. A great victory — the sanguinary 
field with its thousands mangled and slain — the fearful charge of 
infantry against intrenchments, or the sudden and impetuous dash 
of cavalry upon the enemy's line of glittering bayonets, must. 
ever occupy the foreground of the picture — must ever stand 



ELLIOTT — RYAN — WOODS. 239 

in the way of individual instances of courage and the lesser in- 
cidents of peril. The fame of how many personal acts of hero- 
ism is tied up in the laurel wreaths that crown the stately brows 
of Grant, Sherman and Sheridan? He who would attempt to 
make these small events of war interesting, may fail, but as 
I have no literary reputation at stake, I take the hazard of the 
effort. 

Our cavalry camp at White's Station was situated in a beauti- 
ful grove, on undulating ground; the stately trees threw out 
their long leafy branches, shutting out the scorching sun, giving 
us a cool shade for horses and men. It was in that most delight- 
ful of Southern months, May, we pitched our tents and went into 
camp, alter a winter and spring of long marches and rapid raids 
through Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi, to give a 
season of rest to our weary men, and to recuperate our jaded and 
broken-down horses. One day, while at this camp, as I was 
seated in front of my tent, under the thick boughs of a thrifty 
dogwood, enjoying my morning paper and my pipe, a young 
man in the unchanging garb of butternut, so common in this 
country, presented an order from headquarters, giving him per- 
mission to look through the camp for a pair of mules which he 
professed to have lost. He scrutinized the quadrupeds at the 
picket ropes, failing to discover his missing property — visited 
our sutler's tent, drank a few glasses of lager, and then quietly 
walked out of camp. 

A day subsequent to this event, Capt. Elliott, Lieut. Ryan 
and Lieut. Woods, having grown tired of their unvarying meals 
of "hard tack and greasy bacon," thought to enjoy a more re- 
freshing repast at a farm-house, which stood but a short distance 
beyond the pickets. Having previously ordered it, they repair- 
ed to the place a short time before noon, enjoying the keen 
appetite of hungry soldiers, which they expected to appease 
with the coming dinner. Supposing that they would meet a no 
more formidable foe than a venerable chicken or tough beef 
stake, they went unarmed. 

Now that the reader may fully understand what is to come, it 
is necessary that we should take a short survey of the farm-house 
and its surroundings. It was a two-story structure, with a 
verandah on the north, a long kitchen at the rear, and several 
negro cabins on the right or west side. To the front and north 
was an open lawn of about one hundred yards in extent, at the 
edge of which, adjoining the woods, was stationed a picket 



240 ELLIOTT — RYAN — WOODS. 

reserve of some twenty-five men. To the south-east was an 
wood reaching to the yard fence, and some half mile beyond, the 
crooked Nonconnah creek coiled through the thickets of trees 
and bushes. 

As it happened Col. W had, on that morning, sent into 

the country a foraging party of some twenty men, of the 4th 
Missouri cavalry, to procure some little delicacies for his mess 
table. This party of foragers had been beyond the creek and 
were returning by a road that led them to camp, and which 
passed near by the farm-house where our half famished officers 
were "snuffing from afar " the odors of the dinner pot. When 
passing carelessl}*- through the woods that line the margin of the 
creek, and within a half mile of camp, a little cloud of white 
smoke puffed curling up from the bushes — the sharp crack of a 
half dozen revolvers fell upon the ear, and three ot them — one 
killed and two wounded — were in an instant put hors da combat; 
the others surprised and frightened by the suddenness of the 
ambuscade, scampered away "pell-mell, helter-skelter," with- 
out stopping to give fight or to ascertain the numbers ot the 
foe. The guerrillas, for such they were, made instant and vigor- 
ous pursuit, and an exciting race of half a mile ensued. The 
Missourians made the best time, and made camp a short dis- 
tance in advance of their pursuers. The bushwhackers, seeing 
they had lost the race when at our very lines, suddenly changed 
their direction, and dashed up to the rear of the farm-house, 
keeping it between themselves and the picket reserves. 

Our officers were, at this time, quietly seated in the kitchen. 
smacking their lips in anticipation of the good things that would 
soon be in readiness for them, all unconscious of what was tran- 
spiring without. In a moment afterwards, however, they were 
brought to a sudden sense of their forlorn and defenseless con- 
dition, by having a fellow of warlike appearance thrust the muz- 
zle of a revolver into their faces, and demanding "an immediate 
and unconditional surrender." Their astonishment at this ap- 
parition may be imagined. In beating a hasty retreat lay their 
only hope. To fight without arms, against revolvers, was an 
odds too fearful to be contemplated with coolness. The guer- 
rilla was between them and the door, and escape in that direc- 
tion was cut off. They couldn't jump through the root, and be- 
ing in the rear of the house, they could neither be seen or heard 
by the reserves. Fortunately the kitchen windows were up, and 
in a twinkling, Elliott and Ryan went through them, but not 



ELLIOTT — RYAN— WOODS. 241 

Without being greeted with a bullet that whistled harmlessly by 
their heads. They ran into the main building, thence up stairs 
and out on the upper verandah, and called vigorously to the re- 
serves, who, without losing a moment's time, responded to their 
frantic appeal for help by moving on "a double quick" to the 
house. 

While this was going on, the women, children and negroes, 
were screaming and running wildly in almost every conceivable 
direction, making the scene peculiarly grotesque and exciting. 
Woods and the guerrilla, were, in the mean time, having a sin- 
gle-handed bout in the kitchen. Woods was too late in his at- 
tempt to escape, and was compelled to rely upon strategy. 
Adopting measures adequate to the emergency, he closed with 
his antagonist and kept him so busy, that he was unable to use 
his revolver. A rough-and tumble-combat was progressing with 
about equal chances of success, when the footsteps of the ap- 
proaching soldiers admonished the bushwhacker that events 
were thickening about him, and that it was high time for him 
to call off his forces and retreat. He suddenly faced about and 
ran from the kitchen door in the direction of the negro quarters, 
but before he could reach his destination, four bullets rattled 
through his carcass and he fell instantly, dead. The four others 
of his gang, who accompanied him, but did not dismount, fled 
early in the fray without having fired a shot. 

The flight of the frightened foragers, and the firing of the 
pickets, created quite a commotion in camp. Happening to be 
on horse-back at the time, and half a dozen officers and twice as 
many men similarly situated, we gave pursuit to the fleeing 
guerrillas, but before we could reach them, they had scattered in 
the creek bottoms, and our effort to capture them was unavail- 
ing. Our dead and wounded were found and cared for, and we 
returned to camp. As we returned, the dead marauder lay un- 
der the shade of aforrest tree, surrounded by a knot of soldiers. 
He was immediately recognized as the man who had visited 
camp the day before, seeking his lost mules. He was a member 
of the band of guerrillas of which Dick Davis was the leader, 
and was a half brother to that noted robber chieftain. The boys 
made his grave at the edge of the woods near the farm house, 
where his remains now lie; and two large gate posts, constitut- 
ing his head and foot boards, are the only monuments reared to 
his memory. 

27 



LIEUTENANT THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

I was born on the 24th of November, 1840, at Liberty, the 
county seat of Union county, Indiana. My father, Robert Cog- 
ley, was a physician of that place. The most of my life has 
been spent in my native State. In 1S59, I went to LaPorte 
county, Indiana, from the State of Iowa, where my father at that 
time resided, and since that time LaPorte county has been my 
residence. I was living and attending school in the city of La- 
Porte, in the county of that name, at the outbreak of the rebel- 
lion. On going to dinner from school, I read for the first time, 
the Proclamation of the President, calling for seventy thousand 
volunteers, to suppress the rebellion. On returning to school 
after dinner, I stepped into a recruiting office that had just been 
opened, and wrote my name as a volunteer. On arriving at In- 
dianapolis, it was ascertained that the company had more names 
on its roll than could be mustered with it. The officers selected 
the number they were authorized to muster, and there were left 
fifteen or twenty others, among them myself. We felt as if we 
were disgraced for life, and some of us got together and resolved 
never to return to LaPorte county to be laughed at. The 8th 
Indiana regiment of three months troops was not full, and I en- 
listed in company C of that regiment, and served with it until 
it was mustered out on the expiration of its term of enlistment. 
I was with it in the battle of Rich Mountain in West Virginia. 
After being discharged, I returned to LaPorte, thinking I could 
do so with honor. In the Fall of 1861, I enlisted under ('apt. 
Silas F. Allen, in company C, of the 29th Indiana infantry vol- 
unteers, and on the 30th of August, 1801, was mustered as 1st 
or orderly Sergeant of the company. I served with that regi- 
ment, without losing a day, up to the second day of the battle 
of Shilo, April 7th, 1862. On that day I was wounded in the 
right knee with a minnie ball, while the brigade to which the 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. • 243 

regiment was attached, was advancing on the double-quick, to 
relieve the brigade of Gen. Ruseau which had exhausted its am- 
munition. With a large number of other wounded, I was sent 
home to Indiana till my wound healed. I rejoined the regi- 
ment at Stephenson, Alabama, after the siege of Corinth. I 
marched with the regiment and Buel's corps to which it was at- 
tached, from Stephenson to Bridgeport on the Tennessee river. 
And with it from the latter place to Louisville, Kentucky, in 
the chase after Bragg. From Louisville, with the Second Divi- 
sion under Gen. Sill, to Frankfort, and from there by forced 
marches to Perryville, not arriving there, however, until after 
the battle. From Perryville we returned to Louisville, and 
from there marched back to Nashville, Tenn. The hardships 
and exposures of that severe campaign "so impaired my health, 
that I was discharged by reason thereof, on the 14th of January, 
1863. I then returned to LaPorte, and began the study of law. 
Finding it difficult to apply myself to books, when there was so 
much being said and written about battles, in August, 1863, I 
enlisted with Capt. John Shoemaker in company F, 7th Indiana 
cavalry, and was appointed Orderly Sergeant of that company. 
Being at home on leave of absence when the regiment left In- 
dianapolis, it had reached Colliersville, when I rejoined it, and 
therefore I was not with it in its operations in Kentucky and 
West Tennessee. I was with it in the expedition to West Point, 
and in the sabre charge on the evening of February 22d, 1864 ; 
on the expedition to Guntcwn and in the battle of Brice's cross- 
roads, June 10th, 1864; on the expedition to Port Gibson and 
Grand Gulf, Mississippi, in July of the same year. 

I was with Gen. A. J. Smith's army on his expedition to Ox- 
ford, Miss., up to August 14th, 1S64. On the night of the 14th 
of August, I was captured in the fight Capt, Skelton had with 
the rebels at Lamar, Miss., an account of which is given in his 
sketch. Almost at the very onset I was shot in my right side 
with a revolver, the ball striking the lower right rib, and fol- 
lowing around in front and lodging over the pit of the stomach, 



244 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

but I was still able to keep the saddle. South, of the town was 
a ravine from twenty to thirty feet in width and from six to ten 
feet in depth. The rebels, on reaching it, tumbled over each 
other into it, and managed to get on the other side where their 
officers succeeded in rallying them. Capt. Skelton managed to 
withdraw his men at the ravine, but I did not hear the order to 
retreat, and at the rapid rate at which my horse was going did 
not have time to observe correctly what the rest of the company 
were doing, and on reaching the ravine, made no effort to stop 
my horse, in fact, the first knowledge I had that a ravine was 
there, was [when I was nearly thrown over my horse's head, 
when he struck the opposite bank, and with great difficulty, 
kept from falling backward into the ravine. By the time my 
horse had fully recovered an upright position, the rebels had 
partially formed and were advancing towards the ravine. I 
knew my horse could not recross it without momentum to carry 
ii over. Besides, I had no idea that my own men were retreat- 
ing, but thought that having discovered the ravine in time to 
avoid it, had gone around and would be with me in a moment. 
I saw between myself and the rebel line an officer, whose uni- 
form in the night looked like those of Union officers. Thinking 
it was either Capt. Skelton, or, Capt. Wright, who possibly had 
arrived with re-enforcements, I rode towards him. I thought 
it prudent however, before getting too close to him, to ascertain 
whether he was friend or foe. For that purpose I called out to 
him: "What command do you belong to?" Receiving no an- 
swer after a pause of a moment, I again said: "Are you a fed- 
eral officer?" Our horses had been approaching each other on 
a slow walk, and by the time I asked the second question, I was 
close enough to see that the person in front of me was a rebel. 
I saw his right arm raising, and I supposed it was for the pur- 
pose of bringing his revolver to bear on me. Intending to get 
the first shot if possible, I hastily fired at but missed him. He in- 
stantly spurred his horse toward me, which struck mine so 
y ; "!ently as to nearly knock it pff its feet, at the samn 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 245 

time thrusting his revolver at my body with the evident inten^ 
tion of shooting me through. But the muzzle struck my right 
arm just below the elbow, as I was raising it to fire at him again, 
and on firing his revolver the ball passed through my arm. 
Seeing that I was wounded he rode away without saying a word 
or paying any further attention to me. An instant later I was 
in the rebel lines, and had it not been for my sabre, would have 
escaped notice, and probably got away. The rebels did not 
have sabres, and seeing one on me, attracted the attention of a 
rebel, who, leaning forward in his saddle to look at me, exclaim- 
ed: "ByG — d that it is a Yank, surrender!" I said: "Cer- 
tainly, sir," and handed over my revolver which I still held in 
my hand. Two of them led my horse a few rods to the rear, 
and made me dismount. The first thing they demanded was 
my pocket book. I produced it, and was amused to see with 
what eagerness they looked through it expecting to get money. 
Finding none, they wanted to know "why in h — 1 " I had none. 
At that time there were but two Confederates with me, the rest 
were at the front. One of the two, magnanimously offered to let 
me escape. The other objected, saying it was known that a 
prisoner was taken, and if they allowed me to escape, they 
would get into trouble. The other rebel then grew wonderfully 
strict, and cocked his musket and aimed it at me, and threaten- 
ed to kill me if I made any effort to run. I told him he need 
not be alarmed, for I was too badly wounded to run if I had a 
chance. He affected not to believe that I was wounded, saving 
that it was a Yankee ruse to get a chanje to run. In their haste 
to get my pocket book, they forgot to deprive me of my sabre. 
One of them seeing it pretended to be alarmed, and presenting 
the muzzle of his musket at my head, demanded it. I had just 
handed it over and lain down on the ground, when an aid came 
up with an order for me to be taken ore the commanding 
officer. Accordingly, I was taken on field in the midst of 

a group of officers, one of whom commenced interrogating me in 
a, very harsh manner. He would not believe that his command 



246 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COCLEY. 

had been put to flight by only thirty men, and intimated rather 
plainly that it was his opinion that I was lying about the num- 
ber of men who had attacked him. I laid down on the ground 
in front of his horse, and found it impossible, from the intense 
pain from the wound in my side, to avoid an occasional groan. 
The officer wanted to know if I was wounded. I told him I 
was. His manner immediately changed to kindness, and in the 
rest of our conversarion, 1 thought from his tone of voice that 
he really sympathized with me. While we were talking, a reb- 
el officer came dashing up, and said he believed the "Yanks" were 
about to open fire on them from a battery on an opposite hill. 
The commander ordered a Captain with a company forward to re- 
connoiter. The officer proceeded a short distance, and mistaking 
the members of our company, who were riding about trying to 
get together, for artillery, returned and gave it as his opinion that 
the "Yanks" had artillery and were preparing to open fire. In 
the mean time I informed the commandant that there was cpiite 
a force of federal cavalry at Holly Springs. That information 
made him exceedingly nervous. And well it might. It was 
but a few miles across from Holly Springs to the road on which 
he had to retreat, and if the troops at that place got information 
of his position, they could easily cut him off. When the officer 
reported artillery on the opposite hill, the commander instantly 
ordered a retreat. It was begun and continued in haste. 

I was placed under guard in the centre of the column and 
was compelled to keep up on foot. That, I was not able to do 
very long. The wound in my side involved a portion of the 
right lung. The increasing inflammation, and the rapid walking, 
causing my breathing to be more rapid, rendered my sufferings 
almost intolerable. 

Unable to go further, I stopped. That caused the troops in 

the rear to halt. The guard threatened to shoot me if I did 

not go on, At that time I believed I was in the hands of 

guerrillas, and that my death was only a question of time. 

; belief nerved me to bid the gvwd defiance. He was 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 247 

about to carry his threat into execution, when the adjutant of 
the regiment came dashing up from the rear, to ascertain the 
cause of the interruption of the march. Seeing the guard with 
his musket leveled at me, he knocked the muzzle upward with his 
hand, and demanded of him his reason for treating a prisoner in 
that way. The guard explained that he was obeying orders. 
The adjutant then ordered him to move on with me slowly, 
while he went to the rear to get an animal for me to ride. He 
then spoke to me kindly, and told me to walk on a short dis- 
tance, when he would have something for me to ride. In a few 
moments he returned with a mule, off of which one of then- 
men had been shot, and assisted me in mounting it. He then 
got me a canteen of water, the contents of which I immediately 
drank, when he ordered one of the men to refill it for me. My 
ruudition was then splendid in comparison with what it had 
been, but still I suffered greatly, The mule, I was riding, was a 
small short-legged animal, and could not keep up with the col- 
umn by walking. It was constantly lagging behind, and the 
guard every few minutes had to whip it and make it trot to 
catch up. At such times, the pain caused by the jolting was 
intense. Every few minutes during that night, and until 1 
o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, that was my experience. 
The next day, at the request of some of the officers, I related 
the manner in which I was captured, which, they told to Col. 
Kelley, the commander of the expedition. My account agreed 
so nearly with his own, that there was no doubt but that he was 
the man I encountered in front of his lines, and that he was the 
one who shot me. After my story had been told him, he 
appeared opposite, and rode for quite a distance a rod or so 
from me, scrutinizing me carefully, but did not speak a word. 
He looked upon me with anything but a friendly eye. From 
the subdued conversation of the officers, that I overheard, I 
learned that Col. Kelley was dreading the anger of Gen. Forrest 
for allowing himself to be beaten by inferior numbers. I could 
not but notice that I was regarded with more than ordinary 



248 LIEUT. TS01IAS S. COGLEY. 

interest, as I underwent an inspection from every officer in the 
command. Some of them sought interviews with me, and ex- 
pressed their unbounded admiration of the feat of one company 
in making them run. 

With one or two exceptions, I was treated well, so far as the 
circumstances would permit. No attention had been paid to 
my wounds, because the columns did not halt but once from the 
time of commencing the retreat, until it crossed the Talla- 
hatchie river in the afternoon of the next day. After crossing 
the river at New Albany, the command halted for a brief rest. 
While there, the surgeon dressed my wounds. I laid down on 
my back on the ground, and sitting astride oi my body, the 
surgeon cut into the flesh in the pit of my stomach, and ex- 
tracted the ball. 

During the march, the soldiers manifested their kindness by 
giving me water. One insisted on me taking his last cracker. 
Not being hungry, I at first refused, but he urged me to take it 
so persistently and with such kindness, that to please him, I did 
so. At New Albany, with some of their own wounded, I was 
placed in a lumber wagon, and after a march of five or six miles 
further, camped for the night. With the other wounded, I was 
taken to a house, the lady of which, spared no pains to make us 
comfortable. She gave greater attention to myself than to the 
others. She placed a feather-bed on the floor for me to sleep on, 
and gave rne first something to eat. The rebel wounded com- 
plained of that. She then explained that her motive for so 
doing was, in the hope that some Northern mother would be- 
stow the same kindness on her own son, who was a prisoner of 
war in the distant North. 

The next day we were taken in the same jolting, uncomfort- 
able vehicle to Pontotoc, where I again slept on a comfortable 
bed. The next day, we were taken to Okolona, on the Mobile 
and Ohio railroad, and from there by railroad to Lauderdale, 
Mississippi. At that place, I was placed in the hospital, estab- 
lished for the reception of the badly wounded from the battle 




Tliomas «. Cogley. 



LIEUT. TH01IAS S. COGLEY. 249 

fields in the north and interior parts of the State. The garrison 
consisted of convalescents. 

While there, I received the same care and attention given to 
the rebel soldiers. The food was poor and scanty, but it was 
the best the confederate government could furnish. It was 
plainly evident to those familiar with the internal affairs of the 
rebel government, that it could not last much longer. There 
was an undisguised discontent among the rebel soldiers. What 
disgusted them more than anything else was, the utter worth- 
iessness of confederate money. The soldiers would frequently 
say to me, that if their money was as good as our green- 
backs, they could whip the North. What the rebel government 
got from the planters, they had to take almost by force. 

While at Lauderdale, the soldiers were paid off, in confeder- 
ate script. Some of them drew several months pay, and gave it 
all for a watermelon and a few half- ripened peaches. 

I knew that as soon as my wounds were sufficiently healed, I 
would be sent to some prison pen. I resolved to attempt an 
escape, rather than run the risk of ending my life in such a 
place. I soon learned that the guards were placed on their 
posts around the hospital enclosure, at four o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and relieved at eleven o'clock at night. That between the 
hours of eleven p. m. and four a. m., there was no one to pre- 
vent a person from leaving the premises. My plan evidently 
was, to leave the hospital some time after the guards were re- 
lieved for the night. To do so, without attracting suspicion, I 
had for several days, previous to starting, invented several 
excuses for going out of the hospital, between eleven and twelve 
o'clock at night. This occurred so frequently that nothing was 
thought of it. I resolved to make the attempt to escape on the 
uight of the 10th of October, 1SG4. On the evening of that 
day, some of the rebel soldiers bought some sweet potatoes. 
One of them baked two very large ones and gave them to me. 
I took them to my bed and wrapped them in my blouse, intend- 
ing to save them for the next day while on my journev. The 

28 



250 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

head of my bed was at a window. I availed myself of a moment 
when no one was looking, to toss my blouse, hat, and boots out 
of it; for, I was afraid if I put them on when I left, that it 
might cause a suspicion that 1 did not intend to return. At 
eleven o'clock, I heard the guard relieved. All in the apart- 
ment where I was, except myself and the steward, were asleep. 
The latter was deeply interested in a novel, he was reading. 
About half an hour after the guards were relieved, I got up, 
put on my pants, and went to the door. The steward looked 
up but immediately resumed his reading. I passed out, got my 
hat, blouse, and boots, went to the east end of the inclosure, and 
put them on, and after pausing long enough to know that I was 
not being watched, got over the fence, went to the Mobile and 
Ohio railroad, a few hundred yards distant, and started north 
on it as rapidly as I could walk. That was the hardest night's 
travel I ever had in my life. I was constantly imagining that I 
was pursued, and consequently taxed my strength to the 
utmost. 

The transition from a sick bed, to the violent exercise of walk- 
ing on a railroad track in the dark, was radical in the extreme, 
ami no one in my enfebled condition, unless nerved with the 
energy of despair, could have endured the fatigue. 

The ties were laid unequal distances apart, which necessitate 1 
taking long and short steps, thereby rendering travel more 
laborious. It being very dark, I frequently missed the ties, 
which caused me to stumble and fall. About four o'clock in the 
morning, I reached Gainsville Junction, twenty miles from 
Lauderdale. There was a locomotive on the track, and men 
were moving about with lanterns. I stepped off to the right 
side of the railroad, intending to go around the station. I soon 
found myself ascending a very steep hill, covered with a heavy 
growth of cedar. On gaining the summit, I paused to rest. 
The station was just below me, and I could hear the men talk- 
ing. From the fragments of their conversation, I learned that a 
cuii-truction train was about to depart. Not knowing which 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. '251 

way it was going, I thought it prudent to wait and see, as I 
would be in some danger if it was going in the same direction I 
was. 

The exercise of my morning's walk, gave me a good appetite, 
and while waiting for the train to start, and daylight to come, I 
ate one of my sweet potatoes. It was my plan to travel at night 
and conceal myself in the daytime. I chose the railroad, in- 
stead of the wagon-road, to avoid the necessity of inquiring the 
way, which I would have been compelled to do, had I taken the 
latter, and would have been constantly running the risk of 
detection. I knew the Mobile and Ohio railroad run noith, and 
that no trains were run at night, and by taking the railroad I 
would be comparatively safe. I had been in the habit of carry- 
ing with me on our expeditions, a war map. From it I knew 
there was a branch road from the Mobile and Ohio road to Col- 
umbus, on the Tombigbee river. But it had escaped either my 
attention or recollection, that there was a branch road to Gains- 
ville, on the same river. My ignorance or forgetfulness of that 
fact came near costing me my life, as will be seen further on. 
I felt that I was in a good hiding place for the day, and that I 
ought to rest. But I thought that when I was missed in the 
morning at the hospital, that efforts would be made to recapture 
me, by means of blood hounds. 

The rebel officers had taken particular pains to impress on my 
mind, that that was the way they pursued and captured their 
runaway prisoners. Nearly every day I read in the papers 
they brought me, accounts of union prisoners being hunted down 
with those ferocious animals. I therefore resolved to travel that 
day and put as many miles as possible between me and Lauder- 
dale. At daybreak I resumed my journey. I made a circuit 
to the right, to avoid the station. After traveling a mile, I 
came to the road to Gainsville. Thinking it was the Mobile and 
Ohio road, I took a direction through the woods, parallel with 
it. After walking an hour or two in that way, I went on to the 
track to see if the coast was clear, intending if it was, to travel 



252 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

on the railroad track, as it would be easier than dodging through 
the brush in the woods. About half a mile ahead, I saw a 
party of men at work repairing the road. T then went into the 
woods on the left of the railroad, intending to get far enough 
from it, to pass the working party without being seen. I went 
quite a distance into the woods, out of sight of the railroad, and 
started north, which direction was indicated by the moss on the 
trees, supposing I was going parallel with the railroad, but in 
fact I was getting further from both roads. T traveled two 
hours in the woods, thinking it safer to do so than to venture on 
the track. I sat down on a log to rest. While resting, I 
mechanically broke off some twigs in reach of me, and with the 
end of one, gouged holes in the decayed surface of the log. I 
then started, as I supposed, in the direction of the railroad. 
Not finding it after going quite a distance, I quickened my pace 
to a very rapid walk. Hour after hour went by, and I was no 
nearer the railroad than when I started. A suspicion that I 
was lost flashed across rny mind, and with it a natural feeling c>( 
alarm, and the abandonment of my common sense. Distrusting 
my compass, the moss on the trees, I followed the direction of 
the sun, as rapidly as I could walk, and part of the time on the 
run. Toward evening, when the sun was well down toward the 
horizon, I came to the identical log on which I sat in the morn- 
ing to rest. There were the twigs I left sticking in it, the bits 
of rotten bark I had chipped off, and the pieces of broken twigs. 
I knew to a certainty that I was lost. I fully comprehended 
my situation. I was in a pine wilderness, without anything to 
eat, and with no means of procuring food, the knowledge of 
which increased my appetite. I sat down on the log to think. 
I thought of everything I had heard recommended for a person 
in my situation. I thought of " Davy Crockett' ■ " remedy: to 
go in the direction I was sure was the wrong one. I found no 
hope in that, for I had been in every possible direction, and had 
only reached my starting point. Suddenly it flashed across my 
mind, that the construction trains on the railroad would soon be 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 253 

going into quarters for the night, and that the whistle of the lo- 
comotive could be heard, in that flat pine forest, for manv miles. 
I therefore sat intently listening for the locomotive. I had but 
half an hour to wait, when my heart bounded with joy at hear- 
ing a whistle much nearer than I expected. I was waiting to hear 
it again, so as to be sure of the direction, when I was confused 
by hearing in an opposite direction, the faint sound of a loco- 
motive's whistle. A moment later, I heard again the first 
whistle, and concluded that the distant sound was an echo. I 
did not know it, but the fact was, I was between two railroads, 
and the distant whistle was from the Mobile and Ohio road, my 
proper route. 

I started in the direction of the Gainesville road as rapidly as 
I could go. I soon struck an old abandoned wagon road, which, 
going in the direction of the sound of the locomotive, I followed 
till dark. Being fearful of again getting lost by traveling in 
the night, and not knowing certainly that the wagon road would 
lead me to the railroad, and knowing that I had but to wait for 
the whistle of the locomotive in the morning to gst the right 
direction, I concluded to bivouac for the night, expecting to be 
refreshed in the morning by a good sleep. I leaned some sticks 
against a large pine tree, and covered them with pine brush, to 
shelter me from the dew. I crawled under the covering and 
tried to sleep. For several hours, the thoughts of my peculiar 
situation prevented sleep, and as the night wore on, it grew so 
very cold, that slumber was out of the question. Late in the 
night I was roused to my feet by hearing the baying of hounds 
following my trail. I thought the rebels had followed ine with 
blood hounds, and that I would soon be retaken. I was fear- 
ful of being worried to death by the dogs, before their masters 
could come up. I got a club, and placing my back to the tree, 
waited for them to come on. The baying followed the course I 
had come precisely, and was getting nearer and nearer. 
Occasionally it would cease, as if the scent was lost, and then 
break out again nearer and with greater vigor, as if it had been 



254 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

found. The dogs came so close, I could hear them snuffing. 
The barking ceased, and a moment later I heard a negro calling 
the dogs away. I concluded that it was a party of negros hunt- 
ing coon and opossum, a nightly custom of theirs, not so much 
for the amusement of the chase, as for the meat of those animals. 
That incident has often caused me to wonder why the hair of 
our heads will persist in standing on end. when the owner of it 
is frightened ! 

With the appearance of daylight, I started on my way, follow- 
ing the road which still went in the direction in which T heard 
the locomotive the evening previous. 

It was evident that my strength had been overtaxed. The 
cravings of hunger were terrible. I was obliged to lay down 
and rest every few rods. It took me several hours to go one 
mile. I found in the road a rotton ear of corn. That greatly 
encouraged me, for I reasoned that I must be near some habita- 
tion. I ate a few of the grains, but they were so far decayed and 
poisonous, that they caused me to vomit violently for quite a 
while afterwards. About 8 o'clock a. m., I heard the whistle of 
the locomotive. I judged from the sound that the railroad was 
about a mile distant. On going half a mile further I came in 
sight of a plantation, nearly a mile off. I started for it for the 
purpose of getting food from some of the negro shanties that 
were between me and the plantation residence. I had to cross a 
large field of hemp. I was so weak I could not lift my feet 
above the hemp, which was bent over on the ground, and was 
therefore being constantly tripped^, and thrown to the ground. 
1 had to abandon walking, and make the rest of the distance 
through the hemp by crawling on my hands and knees. I en- 
tered an inclosure in the rear of the negro quarters, used for a 
hog pasture, and covered with a heavy growth of white oak 
shrubs higher than my head, in which I could effectually con- 
ceal myself. I cautiously approached the shanties. I saw a 
negro women at the edge of the incloEure, giving swill to a sow 
and pigs in a pen. I attracted her attention and asked her to 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COCLEY. 25 

bring me something to eat. She said she would send her hus- 
band to me in a moment. I requested her not to tell any one 
else. She said: •' You needn't be afraid, I knows whose you 
ahr," and started towards the shanties. To guard against 
treachery, I changed my position, where I could observe but be 
myself concealed. In a moment I saw a powerful negro ap- 
proaching the pig-pen with a pail. He pretended to throw 
swill to the sow, then setting the pail down, looked in the direc- 
tion where I wa3 when the wench left me. Not seeing me, he 
got on a log, and drawing himself up to his full height, looked 
slowly over the iuclosure, and gave a subdued whistle. Know- 
ing that he could be trusted, I went a short distance towards 
him and attracted his attention by whistling. In a moment he 
was with me. I told him I was a Union prisoner, escaping from 
the rebels, aud was starving, and requested him to get me some- 
thing to eat. He went to his shanty and in a short time return- 
ed with a large loaf of corn bread, baked in the ashes without 
salt, a piece of boiled hog's jaw, and a bottle of sour milk. I 
made a vigorous attack on the grub, the negro watching me eat 
with great satisfaction. 1 noticed him observing my uniform 
wistfully, and he mentioned what I was about to propose myself 
— the exchange of my army blue for a suit of citizen's clothes. 
A bargain was struck, but in the negotiation I observed that he 
had a keen eye to getting the best end of it. I was not particu- 
lar, however, and would have given a fortune if I had had one, 
for the food he brought me. After a brief absence, he brought 
what was left of an old worn out broadcloth coat, without a but- 
ton on it, a pair of gray pants tolerably good, an old white 
hat, that completely inveloped my head, and a nearly worn out 
horse blanket. I dressed myself in my new uniform, and was 
ready to assume the role of rebel. To make the trade perfectly 
satisfactory tome, my sable friend ( threw in an old potmetal pocket 
knife, and two matches. He also told me that he was to butch- 
er some hogs that afternoon, and that he would get some of the 
meat, and if I would wait, he would cook some of it and bring 



256 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

it to me. I agreed to wait. I learned from him for 
the first time, that I was on the railroad to Gainsville, 
and had been traveling all the time out of my true route. He 
told me that there were no rebel troops at Gainsville, and that 
my best way would be to go to that plaoe, cross the river, and 
take the wagon road to the Mobile and Ohio road. I concluded 
to take his advice. I hid myself in the bushes, and listened to 
the progress of slaughtering the swine. I waited patiently hour 
after hour for my deliverer to make his appearance with a gen- 
erous slice of smoking fresh pork, but he came not. Night came 
but still I saw nothing of him. About nine or ten o'clock, it 
grew quiet about the shanties, and I concluded to reconnoiter, 
and get some fresh meat if possible. I found my friend in the 
first shanty I looked into. I asked him why he had not brought 
the meat as he promised. He said they did not get through 
slaughtering till late, and that he had not yet received his ra- 
tions of meat, and possibly might not get any. It was so dark 
out doors, it would have been impossible for me to have traveled. 
The bright fire, blazing in an old fashioned clay fire-place, was in- 
viting. I got permission to lay on the floor in front of the fire, 
until the moon rose. The knowledge that I might at any mo- 
ment be discovered, if the overseer should happen to look in, 
kept me from sleeping. About three o'clock in the morning my 
host got up and told me he would be obliged to^go to work in an 
hour, and that the overseer would be likely to be around at an) 
moment, and that he had barely time to conduct me to the rail- 
road, and get back for roll-call. Taking a loaf of bread he hand- 
ed me, we started, and after a walk of half an hour reached the 
railroad, where my colored friend left me, his parting words be- 
ing : "God bless you, Massa! " I proceeded a few miles that day, 
but when night came, I traveled towards Gainsville as rapidly 
as 1 could walk. About ten or eleven o'clock, I stepped into a 
negro shanty on a large plantation, and learned that I was two 
miles from Gainsville, that the town was occupied with rebel 
troops, that the ferry at the river was in their possession, ami 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 257 

that any one attempting to cross without a pass from the com- 
mander of the post, would be arrested as a deserter. My only 
safe course was to retrace my steps to Gainsville Junction and 
get on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. I walked the balance of 
the night with my utmost speed towards the junction. [ rested 
some during the day, and watched my opportunity when trains 
were not passing, to make as many miles as possible. An hour's 
walk after dark that night brought me to the junction. I start- 
ed north on the Mobile and Ohio railroad. After four days and 
nights of travel, I found myself only twenty miles from my start- 
ing point. I followed the railroad without any particular ad- 
venture, to Okolona, traveling ali the time during the night, 
and part of the time during daylight. I got my food from the 
negroes, by going to their quarters in the night. At Okolona I 
took the wagon road to Holly Springs. I passed through 
Okolona at night. On the evening of the next day, about fifteen 
miles from Pontotoc, I saw a negro by a splendid blazing camp- 
fire. I stopped to have a chat with him. He was going to 
Okolona to get a load of salt. He told me that about one hun- 
dred of the State militia occupied the town of Pontotoc, and 
that their business was to arrest deserters and hunt down con- 
scripts. He told me that no one could pass through the town 
without written permission from the commander. I knew my 
only safety was to get beyond Pontotoc before daylight. I in- 
tended on getting in sight of the town, to go around it. I start- 
ed for Pontotoc as rapidly as I could go. To facilitate my 
travel I pulled off my boots and carried them in my hands. 
Pontotoc was at an abrupt turn in the road. I traveled much 
faster than I was aware of, and reached the town sooner than I 
expected. I was astonished to find myself at a picket post at 
the turn of the road. I did not dare to retreat, for fear of be- 
ing pursued if seen. It was late at night, or rather early in the 
morning, and the picket was sleepy. He sat on a pile of rails, 
on the opposite side of the road, with his back to me. Having 
my boots off I walked by him without making anv noise, and 

29 



258 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

without being observed. 1 passed through the town, keeping in 
the shadow of the buildings. At the other end of the town was 
another post, which I passed without being seen. I was once 
more out of immediate danger. 

Half a mile from the town the roads forked. Not knowing 
which was the right one for me to take, I very naturally took 
the wrong one. But intending not to run the risk of getting 
far out of the way, I rested in a cedar clump till daylight, when 
I started on. and about half a mile further, came to a log house 
by the road-side on a hill. I stepped in, and learned that I was 
on the wrong road. A free negro and his wife lived there. 
Their breakfast being nearly ready, the man invited me to par- 
take. I was sitting down to the table when some one at the 
gate called. I noticed the man and woman cast looks of appre- 
hension toward me, and the former left the house hastily, and 
entered into conversation with some one out-side. I suspected 
the individual was a rebel. I asked the woman if he was, and 
she said she believed he was. I improved the time, however, in 
eating. A moment or two later, the negro came in, and told 
me that the person outside was a rebel soldier, in search of his 
horse that got away in the night. That with difficulty he kept 
him from coming into the house, by making him believe that his 
horse was in a hollow a short distance from the house, that he 
had gone there to look for it, but that he would soon be back 
for breakfast. That he, the negro, guessed that I did not care 
to meet the rebel, and that I had better eat as rapidly as possi- 
ble, and get away before he returned. He said he would 
direct me to the Holly Springs road. I drank my coffee, 
grabbed a piece of fried ham and a piece of bread, and under 
the guidance of the negro left the house. He took me into a 
hollow, away from the road, and pointing out a path, told me to 
follow it until I came to a log house, on a plantation, a mile 
distant. He told me to inquire there for a certain ntgro, and 
tell him who sent me there, and that he would understand what 
was wanted. My guide told me, that the negro I was to in- 



LIEUT. TnOMAS S. COGLEY. 200 

quire for, knew every road and by-path between there and 
Memphis, and that he would give me full instructions. He also 
told me that he thought I was a rebel deserter. That such 
persons came to his house nearly every day for directions and 
food, and that he cheerfully rendered them all the 'aid in his 
power, but that he had to be very cautious about it, for if the 
rebels knew what he was doing, they would probably kill him. 
I followed the path as directed, and soon came to a corn-field 
in which were some negroes husking corn. I knew from the 
description given of him, the negro I was to see. He wai a tall 
powerful man, and the overseer of the plantation. I addtes&ed 
him by name. He answered me gruffly, by asking what I want- 
ed there. I told him I was sent to him to learn the way to 
Memphis. He looked very knowing and made a signal for me 
be silent. After husking a few minutes, he ordered the others 
to keep on at work, while he husked a shock of corn a few rods 
distant. He started toward it, and made a motion for me to 
follow him. When we were alone, he told me he knew who I 
was, and that I would have to be very cautious, or I would fall 
into the hands of the rebels, who scouted through the woods 
every day in search of deserters and conscripts. He pointed 
across the field to a road, that would lead me to another road, 
that would lead to the Holly Springs road. He advised me not 
to attempt to go to it in daylight, as I would be running the 
risk of being captured. 

I hid in the field till night, when I started. I found the first 
road without difficulty. The night was extremely dark, and the 
road very rough. I stumbled and fell so often, that by the time 
I reached a plantation two miles distant, I was almost exhaust- 
ed. I concluded to stop at a negro shanty till the moon rose. 
I stepped into one, and found I was within a few hundred'yards 
of the other road I was looking for. I lay down on the floor in 
front of the fire to rest. About ten or eleven o'clock, some 
negroes came in, and from their conversation, I learned that 
they had been to church. One of them wanted to know who I 



260 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

was, when I came, where I was going, and what I wanted. The 
wench told him, he knew as much about it as she did. After a 
few moments, he repeated his questions. He wanted to know 
if I was a white man. On being told that I was, he remarked 
^hat that was no place for me. That a certain rebel captain, 
with twenty men, was but a short distance from there, ami that 
he would surely stop and search their quarters, as he usually 
did, and if he found me there, they would get into tiouble. He 
requested the wench to wake me. She told hitn to wake me 
himself. Thinking it was time to be going, I got up, told the 
negro that I had heard his conversation, and requested him to 
conduct me to the road that would lead to the Holly Springs 
road. He readily ottered his services, and in a moment I was 
walking toward Pontotoc. In a few moments I heard the tramp 
of horses behind me. I got over the fence into a field of hemp, 
and laid flat on the ground, until a body of rebel cavalry passed, 
when I went into the road again, and followed them up, keeping 
several rods in their rear. On coming to the main road, they 
went toward Pontotoc, and I started rapidly in the opposite 
direction toward the Tallahatchie river. About 4 o'clock in the 
morning, I arrived in New Albany on the river. To the left, I 
saw some tents and a few smouldering fires, indicating that 
there were some troops at that point, but I saw no pickets. I 
crossed the river on a log, the bridge having been burned, and 
hurried on toward Holly Springs. I did not stop to rest that 
day, but kept steadily on. At noon, I stepped into a farm- 
house to get dinner. The proprietor was a physician, but was 
not at home. The lady of the house had company. I sat down 
to the table with quite a number of other persons, who, to my 
great satisfaction, paid no attention to me, so I escaped being 
drawn into conversation. 1 learned from their remarks, that 
there was a rumor afloat that the federal troops had surprised 
and captured Molly Springs, that morning, but that they dis- 
credited it. After dinner, observing one or two persons paying 
for their rne.ik I knew p:<v would ty$ expected of me, Th" 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 261 

landlady came near me, as if to receive it. I thanked her kind- 
ly for my dinner, not having any legal tender, and, departed. 
She looked disgusted, and said: "yes, I understand." [had 
gone but about half a mile, when I saw a man coming toward 
me, in a great hurry, motioning with bis hand for me to go back. 
When he got close enough for me to hear, be said the " Yanks " 
had taken Holly Springs, and were preparing to march further 
South, and if I did not want to be captured, for me to turn back. 
I affected alarm at the infomation, but instead of turning back, 
I walked faster toward Holly Springs. 

Soon after, I met a woman in a buggy, who said she had been 
to Holly Springs, and that it was in the possession of the Union 
army. When within two or three miles of the city, I met a man 
coming out of the brush, with the same startling news, that the 
"Yanks" were in town. I could not avoid stopping to talk 
with that fellow, and from him I learned, that he had a store in 
town, and that in the morning, hearing that the Federals were 
coming, fled, and had been hiding all day in the bushes. He 
remarked that he did not think that I was all right, or I would 
not persist in going into town, when the Yanks were there. 
Seeing I was about to have trouble with him, I left him. I had 
hardly got out of sight of him. when I found myself face to face 
with two rebel officers, mounted. They were riding slowly, one 
in advance of the other, but were in a deep study. The first 
one barely glanced at me, and rode on. The second was about 
to pass without seeing me. However, he happened to look to- 
ward me, and made a motion with his hand, as if reining in his 
horse, but observing that his companion was keeping on, he 
he went off into his reverie again, and I escaped unmo- 
lested. I thought they did not act like they would if the 
Yanks were in town. At the crossing of the railroad, half a 
mile from the city, I learned from some little boys at play there, 
that the report of the Yankees having possession of the place, 
was a canard, gotten up by a wag, for sport. 1 tn;nh> ■> »;,!. 
ir ill around the city to th° >l^mrhi- r- 1, 



262 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

Nothing of particular interest occurred until near Colliers- 
ville. It was toward evening. The uppers of my Jboots had 
broken loose from the soles, and it was difficult for me to walk 
in them. There was an old deserted log house a few rods from 
the road, nearly concealed from view from the road, by timber 
and bushes. I thought I would go to the house and repair my 
boots. I cut strips off the tops of my boots, and fastened the 
soles to the uppers, by boring holes through them with my 
knife and tying them together with the strips. I had just 
finished the repairs, when I heard behind me, the click of a 
revolver. I knew full well that I was in the power of an 
enemy, and that my only hope of escape was to pass myself oft' 
as citizen. 

Waiting a moment to recover my self possession, I rose from 
the floor on wfiich I had been sitting, and turned around, as if 
by accident, and was face to face with a young rebel officer, 
mounted, at the window, with a revolver in his hand resting 
on the window sill. I said: "how are you?" He asked me, 
with a tremor in his voice: "where is your horse?" I told him 
I had none. He refused to believe it. I said to him: "I see 
you are a soldier, and from your remarks, I infer, you take me 
to be one. He said: " certainly, I do; everybody in this country 
is a soldier, on one side or the other. " I told him I knew that 
was the case generally, but that I had failed to get into the 
army, because the examining surgeon rejected me as unfit for 
service on account of the loss of sight in one of my eyes. He 
remarked that they must have been more particular when they 
examined me, than they were at that time, when the confeder- 
ates were glad to get any kind of men. I told him I was re- 
turning from a visit to an uncle near Holly Springs, to my home 
near Raleigh, a small town twelve miles north-east of Memphis. 
He wanted to know the name of my uncle at Holly Springs, and 
of my folks at Raleigh. I gave him fictitious names, and could 
see that he was revolving in his mind whethei he had ever heard 
of such persons in those localities. Fortunately, as I learned 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 203 

from hirn afterwards, lie lived in the interior of Mississippi, and 
had but a slight acquaintance in the part of the State where we 
were. He, in company with several other rebel ofilceers, 
was that afternoon netting quails. He carried the nets. 
While we were talking, another officer emerged from the bush, 
who, seeing me, wanted to know who I was. The cne I was 
with, replied : "Oh, just a man I am talking with." Just at 
that time, some one of their party found a Hock of birds, and 
was calling impatiently for the nets. My companion grew ex- 
cited at the prospect of getting birds, but was undecided what 
to do with me. While seeming to be reflecting on the subject, 
some one of the party yelled out: "Why in h — 1 don't you bring 
those nets?" He answered: "Yes, I am coming," and started 
to go. I availed myself of the excitement, to travel. I jumped 
out of the window, bade my new acquaintance "good evening," 
and started. 

When out of sight, I dodged into the brush, and hid till dark, 
when I resumed my journey with all the speed I could com- 
mand. The darkness enabled me to pass through Colliersville 
without being seen. About a mile west of Germantown, at a 
farm-house, standing quite a distance from the road, some 
guerrillas were having a dance. I watched them a few moments 
through the windows, and started on. 

At White Station, nine miles from Memphis, I came very near 
running into a bivouac of guerrillas. I thought I would look 
at the ground on the south side of the road, where my regiment 
at one time camped. I was approaching it, when I heard a 
voice. I listened and heard a person waking his companions, 
and telling them it was time to be going. I passed rapidly to 
the opposite side of the road into the timber, and got by without 
being discovered. I was expecting that that party would come 
upon me, on their way to make an attack on the federal picket 
posts, and, therefore, hept a constant look out to the rear. I 
was traveling on a hard-smooth pike. The moon had risen, and 
I had no difficnlty in finding my way. I had such a dread of at 



2C4 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

last being captured by the enemy I had left in the rear, when so 
near my destination, that most of the time 1 traveled on the run. 
When four or five miles from Memphis, I heard the ringing of 
the bells on the steamboats at the wharf, and knew that 
I was rapidly approaching the federal lines. I knew the 
guerrillas were in the habit of lurking about the lines to capture 
and kill our pickets. It was, therefore, with mingled feelings of 
terror and joy, when about three o'clock in the morning, when I 
was going at the top of my speed, I heard the command 
" Halt!" ring out on the still air. I obeyed the order according 
to its very spirit. A ball through my heart would not have 
brought me to a more sudden stand still. My alarm, lest I had 
run into a guerrilla ambuscade, was increased by not seeing any 
one. After a pause of a moment or two, I heard the words: 
" who comes there?" I replied: "a friend." The same voice 
said: "What kind of a friend, we have strange friends here; 
my opinion is you are a damned rebel. Don't move, or I will 
shoot you." I heard the click of his musket, as he cocked it. 
The words: "damned rebel,'" made me feel happy. I knew I 
must be at the Union lines. I told the picket that I belonged to 
the Seventh Indiana cavalry, had been taken prisoner, and 
escaped. He called the corporal of the guard, and stepping 
from a deep shadow, cast by a high bank by the side of the road 
ordered me to " advance." 

One has a strange feeling, on being compelled to march up to 
the point of a bayonet, in the hands of a guard, who will thrust 
it through you, if he suspects anything wrong. I advanced to 
the picket, and stood with the point of the bayonet against my 
breast, while the corporal satisfied himself that I was unarmed, 
when I was taken to the reserve to give an account of myself. 
They all remembered Captain Skelton's fight at Lamar, and that 
he lost one prisoner. They were satisfied I was what I repre- 
sented myself to be, and while wating lor daylight, got me some 
breakfast. 

It being supposed that I was dead, my appearance at the regi- 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 265 

ment created some surprise. I iound a commission as Second 
Lieutenant waiting for me. A vacancy in the office of Fu\st 
Lieutenant, had occurred by the resignation of Lieut. Dunkerly. 
Maj. Carpenter, who was in command, immediately iorwarded 
my name to Governor Morton, for promotion, and in a short time 
I received a commission as First Lieutenant of campany F. 

I went with the expedition under Col. Osborn, to Bastrop, 
Louisiana, in the spring of 1865. 

During the time the regiment remained in Tennessee, I was 
employed most of the lime on scouting duty. 

I went with the regiment to Hempstead, Texas, where, on the 
consolidation of the regiment, I was mustered out of the ser- 
vice. 

I returned to LaPorte, Indiana, and during the winter of 
1865-66. attended a course of law lectures, in the law depart- 
ment of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. 
After the close of the term, I returned to LaPorte, and entered 
the law office of the Hon. Mulford K. Farrand, as a student. 
On the 9th of November, 1866, I was admitted to practice law, 
in the Circuit Court of LaPorte county, the Hon Andrew L. 
Osborn being Judge of the court. At the May term, 1874, I 
was admitted, on motion of Gen. Thomas M. Browne, to the Bar 
of the Supreme Court of Indiana, and of the United States 
Circuit Court. I have been in the practice of the law in LaPorte 
county, since my admission in 1866. In December, 1869, I was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Farrand. With her my 
home has been the scene of contentment and happiness, in ad- 
versity as well as prosperity. Our union has been blessed with 
two beautiful and intelligent children — a girl and a boy. 

This is my first attempt in the field of literature. I foimed 
the resolution to write a history of my regiment, after learning 
that General Browne had abandoned the intention he formed, 
while in the service, of writing it. It is to be regretted that that 
gentleman had not the leisure to perform the task I have 
attempted. His happy style of writing, would have thrown 



266 LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 

around the subjects treated, a charm, and given them an interest 
not to be achieve J by any other writer. 



CONCLUSION. 

The Seventh Indiana Cavalry took the field when the black 
clouds of civil war were breaking, and when patriots saw a 
glimmering of hope for the successful termination of the bloody 
strife. Its field of operations was the great Mississippi valley; 
and the part taken by the army, with which it was connected, 
had an important bearing on the great military events, that 
were transpiring. The army of the Mississippi, performed 
its duty of securing the navigation of the Mississippi river; of 
interrupting the routes of supply of the confederate armies in 
the South-west; and of making diversions in favor of the armies 
under Generals Sherman and Thomas, with eminent success. It 
had opposed to it, one of the most watchful, successful, daring 
and able of Confederate Generals, N. B. Forrest. The long and 
important line to be guarded, and the frequent and desperate 
attacks of the enemy, kept the cavalry almost constantly in the 
saddle. 

During ils term of service, the Seventh Indiana Cavalry 
traveled by land, on regular marches, three thousand, seven 
hundred and twenty-five miles; by railroad, six hundred and 
sixty -six miles; and by water, three thousand and thirty miles; 
making, without including in the sinuosity of the routes of 
travel, and the almost daily scouting expeditions, while the regi- 
ment was in camp, a grand total of seven thousand, four 
hundred and twenty miles, which will average a little over 
eight miles for every day the regiment was in the service. 

We buried our comrades by the way-side, from Hickman, 
Kentucky, to the end of our wearisome march in Texas. In 
obscure thickets, in the Lone Star State, "in unmonumented 
graves," slumber our heroes, who took a gallant part in 
the events recorded in these pages. From the bottom of the 



LIEUT. THOMAS S. COGLEY. 267 

Mississippi river; from the hill-top and the low river bottoms, 
where they were shot down by the lurking guerrillas, and by 
them denied the right of burial; from the thickly-populated 
military cemeteries, borne there from groaning hospitals, and, 
the fields of glory where they fell, will members of the Seventh 
answer to roll-call, at the sounding of the great reveille. They 
are dead, but not forgotton. A grateful people will ever 
cherish the recollection of their heroic deeds and patriotic 
sacrifices, and reserve in their hearts a green spot, consecrated 
to the memory of the fallen brave. As a compensation for 
their sacrifices, and standing as a grander monument to their 
memory, than any that could be erected of marble, is our Union 
of States preserved, and the power of Our Government felt and 
respected throughout the world. 

From our complex system of government, grave questions of 
constitutional law, will arise, and convulse the people — but 
every true soldier who has experienced the horrors of war, and 
seen the innocent, as well as the guilty, swept into its bloody 
vortex, will enter an earnest plea lor peace — and the people, 
applying the test of patriotism, will settle their differences with- 
out resort to arms. 

THE END. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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